spinach

[Martha]

We just returned from a trip where we ignored the news. During the trip we bought a huge bag of spinach. We love spinach and eat a lot of it. We just heard about the e coli contamination issue. Should we eat the rest of the bag? I am inclined to not worry, given that we already have eaten so much of the bag with no problems.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Because all fresh spinach has been recalled I would advise that you toss it.

However, if you just have to eat it perhaps you could cook it.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I'd throw it out. Why take even a small chance to save $2?

 

[Brat]

I would toss it just because you won't need to worry.  The folks most at risk are those with secondary conditions (very young, very old, or with health problems).

This is awful for all concerned.  I understand they can't find any traces at the processors, which would be the end point of the growing-packing.  It could be that the contamination was limited to one batch, or that the contamination happened in the distribution system after packing.

Our fruit and vegtable growers and packers can take a package, look at the code, and trace it back to the field it was grown on.  Their documentation is fantastic!!!  The meat packers p**sed and moaned when the FDA asked them to to the same.  The biggest contamination risks are raw products.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Aren't these products all irradiated to kill such contaminants ?

If not that would seem prudent.

 

[73ss454]

We just returned from a trip where we ignored the news.  During the trip we bought a huge bag of spinach.  We love spinach and eat a lot of it.    We just heard about the e coli contamination issue.  Should we eat the rest of the bag?  I am inclined to not worry, given that we already have eaten so much of the bag with no problems.

I don't think eating it is a good idea. If you choose to eat it I hope you and Greg have 2 bathrooms. :

 

[HFWR]

And they could saw a roll of tp in half...

 

[Eagle43]

Throw it out; brush your teeth; gargle; drink some wine. Problem fixed.

 

[Brat]

MasterBlaster, I agree.

 

[haha]

Don't eat it. I believe the incubation period can be longer than one week. So you experience of having eaten it already says nothing about the status of the bag.

Ha

 

[Nords]

Compost it!

 

[Brat]

Compost it!

Not unless your compost gets hot enough to kill the bugs.

 

[shorttimer]

sing "I'm popeye the sailor man" and throw it in the trash.

There is an old saying, if in doubt, throw it out. What better time to follow that advice. Less than five Dollars or suffering with severe diarrhea- no brainer in my book.

 

[greg]

sing "I'm popeye the sailor man" and throw it in the trash.

There is an old saying, if in doubt, throw it out. What better time to follow that advice. Less than five Dollars or suffering with severe diarrhea- no brainer in my book.

Why do ya think I don't where pants most of the time, eh. I just threw it.

 

[Meadbh]

The likelihood that your spinach is contaminated is low, but if it is, the consequences can be severe. It's not just diarrhea.......this bug can cause kidney failure.

There are other green vegetables now, and there will be spinach in the future. Toss it!

 

[Martha]

Don't eat it. I believe the incubation period can be longer than one week. So you experience of having eaten it already says nothing about the status of the bag.

Ha

Oh man, really? We didn't know about the spinach scare and as I said, we really like spinach and I ate a lot of it.

 

[Dawg52]

I don't have to worry about getting sick from spinach.    I do buy the bag salad kits. I wonder how safe they are? 

 

[audreyh1]

Didn't they already figure out that it wasn't the spinach?

Audrey

 

[Cut-Throat]

Didn't they already figure out that it wasn't the spinach?

Audrey

Not, as far as I know. -- There are still news stories about exactly where the spinach came from. It has been traced to a California Farm. They still don't know why though.

 

[TromboneAl]

I've found this story interesting.

First, the spinach industry is dead, at least for a few years. It's hard enough to get people to eat spinach even if there's no chance it will kill you. Right?

Best result is that they find some specific cause, but CDC spokesman said that is unlikely.

Some things I don't understand:

1. They say the E. coli is in the spinach, because it was absorbed through the groundwater (washing doesn't help). But they also say they don't know if the source was in the field or during processing. But how could the E. coli get into the spinach during processing (rather than on it).

2. Let's say there is some groundwater contamination somewhere in Salinas. Presumably that could affect other crops (e.g. lettuce), unless it's strictly localized to one field. Yes?

 

[Cut-Throat]

1. They say the E. coli is in the spinach, because it was absorbed through the groundwater (washing doesn't help). But they also say they don't know if the source was in the field or during processing. But how could the E. coli get into the spinach during processing (rather than on it).

I have not heard this. The way I understood it, is that washing does not help because they have found that you only need to ingest as few as 10 bacteria to get infected. This makes washing almost impossible because of the small amounts.

 

[ronin]

In the months before this event with the spinach, the exact same thing occured with lettuce: an outbreak of the virulent strain of e. coli.  The source then as now remains somewhat a mystery, although with the usual suspects.  It's a shame, since the products were grown in the Salinas Valley, that the Ventura spinach growers are being devastated as well.  Farming is a tough business from so many angles.

 

[Martha]

I just read that most US spinach comes from New Jersey and their sales are dead. It is really going to hurt the farmers and NJ spinach has not been the source of the outbreak.

I want my spinach. I hate lettuce. All my salads are spinach salads. How will I live.

I

1. They say the E. coli is in the spinach, because it was absorbed through the groundwater (washing doesn't help). But they also say they don't know if the source was in the field or during processing. But how could the E. coli get into the spinach during processing (rather than on it).

I heard that a 10 count of the bacteria could be enough to infect you. So if bacteria got on the spinach during processing, rather than in the spinach, you might wash most off, but odds are you could never wash it all off.

 

[youbet]

A college buddy of mine runs a business in NJ growing gourmet salad greens hydrophonically (sp?). With spinach out of the picture, he reports business is booming.

 

[TromboneAl]

It's funny, all the news I've seen has made a big deal of the idea that the E. coli is in the spinach, along with graphics showing it traveling in the water and into the interior of the plant.

But I think the 10-count business is just as plausible as to why you can't just wash it.