Ecoli Outbreak in 8 states!

[melissarene]

<H1>E. coli outbreak in 8 states tied to fresh spinach</H1>
<H2>FDA officials don't know the source, advise people not to eat it</H2>


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14841731/
WASHINGTON - An outbreak of E. coli in eight states has left at least one person dead and 50 others sick, federal health officials said Thursday in warning consumers not to eat bagged fresh spinach.
The death occurred in Wisconsin, where 20 others were also sickened, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The outbreak has sickened others — eight of them seriously — in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.
FDA officials do not know the source of the outbreak, other than it appears to be linked to bagged spinach. "We're advising people not to eat it," Acheson said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsin health officials alerted the FDA about the outbreak Wednesday. Preliminary analysis suggests the same bug is responsible for the outbreak in all eight states.
E. coli bacteria causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, although some people — including the very young and old — can develop a form of kidney failure that often leads to death.
Anyone who has gotten sick after eating raw packaged spinach should contact a doctor, officials said.

[californiagirl]

Thank you for the info!!!!!


I will keep this in mind when I go grocery shopping.[img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[harmonygirl72]

Yikes! I live near the Wisconsin border...surprisingly Illinois was not named! I think I'll stay away from bagged spinach just in case!

[rubysoho120]

I was just thinking that is why I dont want to eat salad...even though i love it...it scares the crap outta me.!!!

[melissarene]

Oh, I know, every year you hear about some sort of icky outbreak concerning bagged salads..Blech...I would rather stay away from that stuff from now on, myself....

[mitch04133]

AHHHHH!! I'm in Michigan...and on any given day you can find a bag of fresh spinich in my fridge, I eat that stuff almost everyday!!!! That is gross...but I do wash all my spinich before I eat it, so wouldn't that help?? Maybe that's why I have been sick past couple of days...e-coli....just kidding I got a kidney infection, or is it?

[marieb73]

You know, a lot of people don't think of veggies when they think of fp. They say that even if a bag of packaged lettuce or other fresh veggies says "washed" on it, you ought to wash it again really well.

[shiva]

You should always, always wash your produce- always. Think of what's in the fertilizer- yukka!

They also said, though that what happens is that the water run off with the contaminant in it gets into the plants roots, and becomes a part of the plant. So, washing it doesn't mean you will not get e coli from it. But, f***it. That's life, no?

[crimgoddess]

I know the words "outbreak" seem scary- but if you read the article, they mention that it has conclusively made 50 people sick over 8 states. To me, this doesn't seem much to worry about- in those 8 states, I'm sure that more than 50 people ate bagged spinach over the past few weeks without getting sick- that, and what percentage of those 8 states do these 50people comprise? I really can't get worried over something that has affected less than 1% of the population of a certain area.


I'm not saying that you shouldn't throw out any bagged spinach you have in your fridge that you bought over the past few days, or cook it before eating- I just don't think an "oubreak" of 50 cases over such a large area is a major concern.


Ps- definitely wash any produce before eating- no one wants to eat the bugs and animal poopies that may still be lingering! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]


*amber*

[melissarene]

Yeah, I only posted to warn others to throw away any of that. I hope that I haven't caused anyone to freak out or anything...


Mitch04133 - Where in Michigan are you? I'm there, too!

[mitch04133]

I am in Macomb Twp just northeast of Detroit, where are you???

[melissarene]

I'm in Kalamazoo. : )


---


PS: The outbreak thing has been updated...It's up to 11 states that have been affected... Don't take any risks with that bagged spinach.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14841731/


By Friday, the outbreak had grown to include at least 11 states: Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin.


Wash your hands before you open the bag. Really, it is important.


Be careful not to allow either the bag or the salad to come close to raw meat juices (they might contain E.coli or other bad bacteria).


Before you buy, take a look at that sell by date and don't buy the salad if that date has passed.


If the salad stays out too long (gets too warm) at home or starts to look brown or gooey around the edges — don't try to save it, throw it away.


And if you do get sick, think salad! It might be the culprit...and if there is any of the salad left in the bag, don't throw it away. (The salad may need to be tested.)


If you get really sick, sick enough to go to the hospital, let the doctors know you had salad in a bag. And if you find out you are contaminated with E.coli, call your local health department so someone else doesn't get sick.Edited by: melissarene

[rubysoho120]

I know the words "outbreak" seem scary- but if you read the article,
they mention that it has conclusively made 50 people sick over 8
states. To me, this doesn't seem much to worry about- in those 8
states, I'm sure that more than 50 people ate bagged spinach over the
past few weeks without getting sick- that, and what percentage of those
8 states do these 50people comprise? I really can't get worried over
something that has affected less than 1% of the population of a certain
area.



I'm not saying that you shouldn't throw out any bagged spinach you
have in your fridge that you bought over the past few days, or cook it
before eating- I just don't think an "oubreak" of 50 cases over such a
large area is a major concern.



Ps- definitely wash any produce before eating- no one wants to eat the bugs and animal poopies that may still be lingering! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]



*amber*"






Now the only problem with that is that lots of people dont report
anything...most people get sick and dont say anything to anyone...so
dont forget that those 50 people are only the ones who have reported
being sick...im sure there is others. Cooking spinach or any veggie or
meat or food doesnt mean you are going to kill all the bacteria or
viruses...because some can survive extreme heat and extreme cold. I
learned that in my food safety and sanitation class. And washing the
lettuse does not mean it will get the bacteria or viruses off...because
you have to be abrasive with it, and you cant with you just run water
off it...just so all of you know. thats why i dont eat salad and i only
eat cooked veggies

[chicajojobe]

"Cooking spinach or any veggie or
meat or food doesnt mean you are going to kill all the bacteria or
viruses"

Gee, that's great to hear! As if I wasn't freaked out enough since I forgot about the spinach thing and ate manicotti today which had spinach in the filling. I kept telling myself that i would be fine since it was cooked, but apparently not? [img]smileys/smilies_03.gif[/img]

Edited by: chicajojobe

[rubysoho120]

I really didnt want to make anyone scared...i just wanted to inform so you can make the choice you feel safe and happy with

[sage]

Hey guys - glad I saw this thread. My son-in-law, Alvin is here now. He's got a degree in microbiology and is doing a Masters this year. Here's what he has to say:


ALVIN: Hey everyone - there's a lot of misinformation running around this thread. First of all, e-coli is a BACTERIA (so what I've said about viruses in the Q&amp;A section doesn't apply). You CANNOT get rid of e-coli by washing spinach or any other produce. You should wash it to get dirt off it, and also to dilute the pesticides it may have been sprayed with.


Heat TOTALLY WILL KILL e-coli, however. So don't panic if you've cooked your spinach.


E-coli is not "food poisoning", per se. It has nothing to do with sell-by dates or if the spinach looks brown. It is actually a bacteria that lives in manure or other poop and it can get onto the spinach through a water supply that is contaminated.


E-coli can get onto meat from the cow poop in the slaughter house. If it's a steak, it doesn't matter because you cook it off (it's only on the outside). But in hamburger, it gets mixed in, so you have to cook the meat right through to the middle. "Medium rare" burgers is a misnomer - there's no such thing...it just means it's raw inside, cooked outside.


E-coli can be deadly to children (especially), and also the sick and elderly. But a healthy adult will get abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea and overwork their kidneys - that's about it. I've never heard of vomiting as a symptom - lol!

[japa]

From what I have heard on the news, the reason that washing will not get the e coli off the spinach is the reason that shiva and some others said -- because the e coli is embedded within the leaf from the plant being watered for so long with the contaminated water. I'd imagine that if I had e coli on my hand because (well, you know) and I touched some spinach and transferred the e coli to it that I could then wash the spinach, and send the e coli down the drain. That's just what I think from what I've heard on the news.

[japa]

ruby -- I honestly don't think that you can fail to report e coli infection, at least from the way this one sounds because it is the serious strain of the bacteria. You just get way too sick with it, so you need to go to the doctor. Tests will be run, and it will be reported.


Even if some people aren't reported, then it doesn't matter because they must have had just a bit of diarrhea -- meaning that it wasn't enough sickness to make them pause and get help. In which case, I don't think it matters all that much. What I would be worried about is kidney damage.


Not to mention, I just took defensive driving for a traffic ticket, and in 2001, there were 42,116 traffic fatalities in the U.S. If we compare that to the spinach numbers, well, it's pretty obvious what's riskier.

I know the words "outbreak" seem scary- but if you read the article, they mention that it has conclusively made 50 people sick over 8 states. To me, this doesn't seem much to worry about- in those 8 states, I'm sure that more than 50 people ate bagged spinach over the past few weeks without getting sick- that, and what percentage of those 8 states do these 50people comprise? I really can't get worried over something that has affected less than 1% of the population of a certain area.


I'm not saying that you shouldn't throw out any bagged spinach you have in your fridge that you bought over the past few days, or cook it before eating- I just don't think an "oubreak" of 50 cases over such a large area is a major concern.


Ps- definitely wash any produce before eating- no one wants to eat the bugs and animal poopies that may still be lingering! [img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]


*amber*"




Now the only problem with that is that lots of people dont report anything...most people get sick and dont say anything to anyone...so dont forget that those 50 people are only the ones who have reported being sick...im sure there is others. Cooking spinach or any veggie or meat or food doesnt mean you are going to kill all the bacteria or viruses...because some can survive extreme heat and extreme cold. I learned that in my food safety and sanitation class. And washing the lettuse does not mean it will get the bacteria or viruses off...because you have to be abrasive with it, and you cant with you just run water off it...just so all of you know. thats why i dont eat salad and i only eat cooked veggies

Edited by: japa

[sheri-baby]

Heat TOTALLY WILL KILL e-coli, however. So don't panic if you've cooked your spinach.


I've always assumed that to be the case, so when I read the newspaper this morning, it said wahsing and cooking won't kill it.....I don't get it!!!....what about hamburgers and all other foods, so ae they saying that cooking to 160 degrees theory is out the door? and ecoli can be in the lettuce leaves, so washing doesn't even matter anymore in preventing illness! I love my salads, only at home, because i wash the veggies really good, well i guess that really isn't going to make a difference now, just cleaner bacteria laced leaves!.....scary stuff[img]smileys/smilies_03.gif[/img]

[japa]

Well, I'm not sure about the cooking, especially if you have read something in your newspaper that says cooking doesn't help. Good grief - such conflicting information in major media sources.


Anyway - I think that it's pretty infrequent that water contamination causes e coli to be living within the spinach leaves. I mean, I haven't heard of this happening that often. I think maybe there was something about e coli in the bagged salads last year, but it must have been quite limited because I never heard much about it. So, I don't think that this happens too much.


I'd imagine too that regulations might eventually be made to inspect veggies for this kind of internal hosting of the bacteria. That's what the FDA should require. Ha, ha, I guess I think that I work there. I'm sure that inspectors could use a microscope to find the bacteria within the leaves before shipping the darn spinach or lettuce out all over the place. There is the added cost, but it would save this kind of drama from happening.

Heat TOTALLY WILL KILL e-coli, however. So don't panic if you've cooked your spinach.


I've always assumed that to be the case, so when I read the newspaper this morning, it said wahsing and cooking won't kill it.....I don't get it!!!....what about hamburgers and all other foods, so ae they saying that cooking to 160 degrees theory is out the door? and ecoli can be in the lettuce leaves, so washing doesn't even matter anymore in preventing illness! I love my salads, only at home, because i wash the veggies really good, well i guess that really isn't going to make a difference now, just cleaner bacteria laced leaves!.....scary stuff[img]smileys/smilies_03.gif[/img]

[sage]

I've always assumed that to be the case, so when I read the newspaper this morning, it said wahsing and cooking won't kill it.....I don't get it!!!....

ALVIN HERE AGAIN: I don't get it either. It just goes to show you that the newspaper is certainly no source of authority. Although if I had any spinach in the frig, I'd just throw it out right now, nevertheless the facts are that heating to 165 degrees will absolutely kill e-coli. 165 isn't even that high of heat - boiling is 212. I suppose a quick toss in a stir-fry might not do it for your spinach, but two minutes frying or boiling cit ertainly would. Once again, I recommend throwing spinach out if you've bought it in the last 2 weeks.


For acurate factual information, you can go to the CDC website (Centre for Disease Control) about any form of bacteria, virus or disease. www.cdc.com

[melissarene]

Sage, thanks for bring in Alvin for advice. The media is blowing everything out of proportion and worrying us all, I know. But I'm glad that he is emphasizing that it IS still something someone should be concerned about and they shouldn't take any chances.


Everyone should be ok on not dealing with spinach anymore, because you can't even buy it right now. It's ALL been pulled off the shelves at the majority of grocery stores. I'm sure most restaurants are following suit and not serving spinach salads and the like (and they probably aren't even receiving any shipments of it either!).

[crimgoddess]

They could be importing it from Canada-


I think most of the cases in the US have also been linked to a specific farm in California, which grows and sells spinach under a variety of different labels, including Dole and Trader Joes.I know our grocery store has pulled all the spinach from the US off the shelves, but the ones that are grown in Canada are still available- and since there have been no cases of "outbreaks" noted here, is likely safe.


Which is good- because even reading about this has really made me crave a spinach salad. You know, as long as it doesn't turn my butt into a blood faucet.


*amber*

[sage]

lol


I'm sure they (whoever "they" are) have gotten to the bottom of it by now and it will soon be back on the market and will be as safe as anything else.

[rubysoho120]

The spinach does come from cali, where I live. and you can't wash ecoli
off, is because is gets absorbed with the water into the spinach...and
you can all think and whatever you want, but I have taken TONS of
classes on food safety, and I have learned all about bacteria, viruses,
and toxins, and i know that cooking it MAY kill the bacteria or even
less it, but doesn't for sure kill it. And in ever article I read it
says MAY and COULD kill but doenst say for sure it can kill it. And
e-coil is foodp oising because you eat it and it makes you sick. AS for
people not reporting it...tons of people in America don't have medical
insurance and wouldnt be able to just go to the er or doctor...and it
should matter even if they only had it a little bit, because they still
got infected with the bacteria.

[japa]

I don't agree with what you're saying about the reporting. I think that few of these cases right noware goingunreported because it's getting such widespread media coverage, and people are on the alert about it. (Edited to say: This strain of the E Coli bacteria is the very serious one that causes bloody diarrhea. I just don't see someone with bloody diarrhea not getting medical treatment, though I acknowledge that it could happen. I just don't think it's probable)


And by the way, the ER is one of the main places that people without medical insurance DO go.


But look, we don't have to agree about this. It's o.k. Let's not be upset about it. We have different opinions. So be it.

The spinach does come from cali, where I live. and you can't wash ecoli off, is because is gets absorbed with the water into the spinach...and you can all think and whatever you want, but I have taken TONS of classes on food safety, and I have learned all about bacteria, viruses, and toxins, and i know that cooking it MAY kill the bacteria or even less it, but doesn't for sure kill it. And in ever article I read it says MAY and COULD kill but doenst say for sure it can kill it. And e-coil is foodp oising because you eat it and it makes you sick. AS for people not reporting it...tons of people in America don't have medical insurance and wouldnt be able to just go to the er or doctor...and it should matter even if they only had it a little bit, because they still got infected with the bacteria.

Edited by: japa