Sept. 19, 2006
The Food and Drug Administration and California Department of Health Services planned Monday to work toward tracing the infected greens to individual farms. The inquiry will review irrigation methods, harvest conditions and other practices at farms possibly involved.
The purity of irrigation water, the use of manure as fertilizer, the proximity of animals and the hygiene of workers throughout the production process affect contamination.
There is no indication that the outbreak was deliberate, said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
The FDA continued to warn consumers not to eat fresh spinach or products containing fresh spinach until further notice.
‘‘This is unquestionably a significant outbreak in terms of E. coli,’’ Acheson said.
Wisconsin has seen 32 confirmed cases related to the outbreak, more than any other state, including one death of a 77-year old Manitowoc woman. Seventeen cases are being DNA-fingerprinted to determine if they were caused by the same strain found on the bad spinach.
Results of DNA tests are pending for one Washington County case of E.Coli hospitalization. The patient reported eating spinach around two weeks ago in a consultation with a state epidemiologist, so it is likely the case is not related to the outbreak.
Typically symptoms appear three to four days after contact with the bacteria, but could present themselves as late as eight days.
Currently samples from all confirmed cases of E.Coli will be genetically examined as part of increased surveillance during the spinach-related outbreak. On Friday, Wisconsin became the first state to request epidemic aid from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to help pay for the increased testing and surveillance.
Most cases of E.Coli come from improperly washed or stored food. So far this year there have been nine Washington County cases of hospitalization from the bacteria, not yet surpassing 2005’s ten cases.
Under-cooked beef, unpasteurized beverages and improper or infrequent hand-washing are the most frequent causes of contamination. But health officials and nutritionists urge consumers to wash all produce, even the parts that are not eaten such as the rinds of melons.
“If you take a knife and slice through a watermelon, you spread the organism all the way through,” said Linda Walter, director of the Washington County Health Department.
Nutritionists and food service workers hope the public will not turn away from spinach once the outbreak is over, but remember the food-handling standards cases like this highlight.
The consumption of fresh spinach has exploded in the last 30 years. According to a 2003 study by the Department of Agriculture, spinach consumption peaked at 453 million pounds a year in 2000 – seven times greater than 1970.
“More people nowadays are eating raw spinach as opposed to canned spinach,” said Gloria Weller, a clinical dietitian at St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend. “From my childhood, I don’t remember raw spinach being so readily available.”
Incredibly nutrient-rich, spinach has long been touted by nutritionists as a source of vitamins A, E and K, as well as antioxidants, folic acid, beta keratin and magnesium – and it retains those nutrients better when eaten uncooked.
With spinach unavailable, this could be a good to experiment with other vegetables and dark leafy greens.
“There’s no one nutrient that’s unique to spinach,” said Dana Scheunerman, also a St. Joe’s clinical dietian. “People shouldn’t avoid eating healthy just because of one episode like this.”
When Jan Walter, co-owner of Januli’s Pizzeria on Main Street (and sister-in-law of Linda), heard of the outbreak last Thursday she had just placed an order with her distributor. Walter canceled the order and posted a warning in her restaurant, which normally serves spinach in a salad, on pizzas and on two popular sandwiches.
Holly Olm is the general manager of the Riverside Brewery and Restaurant, which usually serves a spinach salad of grape tomatoes, diced egg and whole grain croutons with hot apple wood bacon dressing. The Riverside temporarily removed the salad from its menu and adjusted its garden and house salads to be spinach-free.
Walter said she had faith in government regulators and health organizations to monitor the situation and when they lift the warning, consumers will go back to spinach.
“I think that we have a real good system to eliminate and test and take all the precautions,” Walter said. “It’s good for you and you just can’t be frightened of everything.”
– the associated press contributed to this report