E. Coli outbreak hits 20 states
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sep 16, 3:58 AM EDT
* E. Coli outbreak hits 20 states*
By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An outbreak of E. coli has been linked to a
California spinach processor, but government investigators are looking
into other producers as well.
"We're clearly evolving and it is very important to keep an open mind
whether there are other products potentially implicated," said Dr. David
Acheson, the chief medical officer with the Food and Drug
Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Natural Selection Foods LLC was linked to the E. coli outbreak that has
killed one person and sickened nearly 100 others. Twenty-nine people
have been hospitalized, 14 of them with kidney failure. FDA officials
said they had received reports of illness in 20 states.
Supermarkets across the country have pulled spinach from shelves, and
consumers have tossed out the leafy green.
The officials stressed that the bacteria had not been isolated in
products sold by Natural Selection Foods, a holding company based in San
Juan Bautista, Calif., known for Earthbound Farm and other brands.
However, multiple patients named spinach brands sold by the company in
interviews with health officials, Acheson said. Other brands may yet be
implicated.
Meanwhile, Natural Selection Foods voluntarily recalled its products
containing spinach and is cooperating with federal and state health
officials to identify the source of the contamination. Its products are
sold as Rave Spinach, Natural Selection Foods, Dole, Earthbound Farm,
Trader Joe's, Ready Pac and Green Harvest, among other brand names.
"We are very, very upset about this," Natural Selection Foods
spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said Friday night. "What we do is produce
food that we want to be healthy and safe for consumers, so this is a
tragedy for us."
The company said consumers could call 800-690-3200 for a refund or
replacement coupons for tossed-out spinach products.
State health officials received the first reports of illness Aug. 25,
and the FDA was informed Wednesday, Acheson said.
The FDA warned people nationwide not to eat the spinach. Washing won't
get rid of the tenacious bug, although thorough cooking can kill it.
"We're waiting for the all-clear. In the meantime, Popeye the Sailor Man
and this family will not be eating bagged spinach," said Dr. William
Schaffner, chairman of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University.
The Tennessee university's medical center was treating a 17-year-old
Kentucky girl for E. coli infection. That case originally was listed as
being from Tennessee, but federal health officials changed it to Kentucky.
Each year, consumers buy more than 500 million pounds of triple-washed
raw spinach, packaged in cellophane bags and clamshell boxes.
Wisconsin accounted for 29 illnesses, about one-third of the cases,
including the lone death. The victim's son identified her Friday night
as Marion Graff, 77, of Manitowoc, who died of kidney failure Sept. 7.
"We are telling everyone to get rid of fresh bagged spinach right now.
Don't assume anything is over," Gov. Jim Doyle said.
Other states reporting cases were California, Connecticut, Idaho,
Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New
York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington and
Wyoming, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The E. coli O157:H7 strain of the bug has sickened at least 94 people
across the nation, the CDC said.
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On the Net:
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/