Chicago – Grocery stores, restaurants and delis across the country threw out fresh spinach products of all types Friday amid rising concern over a national outbreak of E. coli – nearly 100 cases, including one death – and a federal warning to avoid all prepackaged spinach.
In Colorado, state health officials have not confirmed whether two University of Colorado at Boulder students have the same strain of E. coli that has sickened people nationwide.
Lab test results are expected Monday.
Neither student was hospitalized, and both are at home resting and rehydrating, said Bob Cranny, director of Wardenburg Health Center at CU. Both students remain ill with flulike symptoms and diarrhea.
By late Friday, investigators had traced some infections to prepackaged spinach from one California company, but consumers should avoid all fresh spinach if they’re unsure of its source, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said.
Washing the leaves won’t help because that does not kill the E. coli bacteria, experts said. Boiling spinach could kill the germs, but health officials said consumers should not rely on that method with potentially tainted vegetables.
People who have bagged spinach in their refrigerators should throw it out.
“Our advice is that if you have fresh spinach, whether it’s just spinach or part of a mix, don’t eat it,” said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer for the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
So far, the bacterial outbreak has touched 20 states, hitting Wisconsin hardest with 29 cases, including the only recorded death. Epidemiological investigations have traced at least part of the outbreak to spinach from Natural Selection Foods LLC of California, which packs spinach products for numerous brands.
Based on that evidence, the company Friday issued a voluntary recall of products with expiration dates ranging from Aug. 17 to Oct. 1. FDA officials said they do not know if the problem is limited to Natural Selection Foods or if the investigation will warrant recalls from other companies.
The health alert came about so quickly that health experts had some difficulty formulating precise recommendations for consumers Friday.
At first, the FDA recommended that people avoid fresh, bagged spinach; late Friday, the agency expanded that to include all prepackaged spinach, including products in clamshell containers.
Marlena Bordson, chief of the Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies at the Illinois Department of Public Health, said she would advise consumers to steer clear of all fresh spinach, including the produce in salad bars.
“The prudent person wouldn’t purchase it for the time being,” Bordson said.
Denver Post staff writer Katharine Bernuth contributed to this report.
