Colorado health officials haven’t received any confirmed reports as of today of any E. coli cases related to a multistate outbreak in people who ate raw, packaged spinach.
But Denver County, Boulder County and Gunnison County each have one suspected case, in which people reported eating raw spinach before they felt sick, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment spokesman Mark Salley said.
Test results that would determine whether any of the people have E. coli and whether it’s the same strain as the one involved in the outbreak won’t be known until next week, Salley said.
E. coli, commonly present in animal manure, causes diarrhea.
Most healthy adults can recover although some can develop a form of kidney failure that is fatal.
Federal heath officials said today that the national outbreak has been traced to a California company, which has agreed to recall its bagged spinach products.
One person has died and nearly 100 people others became ill in the outbreak, which has spread to about 20 states.
The Food and Drug Administration said late today that the outbreak had been linked to bagged spinach products distributed by Natural Selection Foods, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif.
“It is possible that the recall and the information will extend beyond Natural Selection Foods and involve other brands and other companies, at other dates,” said Dr. David Acheson, the chief medical officer with the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition .
If you or someone you know has experienced an illness that may be related to tainted spinach, e-mail our newsroom.
