E.COLI / SPINACH ISSUE CONTINUES AS FDA LOOKS FOR THE SOURCE

E.COLI / SPINACH ISSUE CONTINUES AS FDA LOOKS FOR THE SOURCE

The spinach and E.coli issue continues to dominate the news as Food and Drug Administration investigators try to pinpoint the source. On the FDA advisory to consumers about eating fresh spinach either in bulk or bagged form, retailers pulled the product from their shelves and shippers stopped sending the product to market. At this date, shippers are reformulating spring mixes to exclude the spinach ingredient and retailers are reporting that sales of other bagged salads have neither spiked nor plummeted. Consumers appear to have heeded the FDA warning but are continuing their normal produce purchases, with the exception of spinach products.

WG staff is working closely with FDA and the California Department of Health Services and its grower-shipper members to answer questions and concerns and move this issue to a speedy conclusion. Though there have been numerous press reports speculating as to the cause and source of the E.coli outbreak, the FDA has not gone beyond its advisory warning consumers against eating spinach because of its ongoing investigation. For more information, please contact hgiclas [at] wga.com 949-885-2205

Western Growers Food Safety Resources

Helpful Links:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/spinach.html

http://www.dhs.ca.gov/opa/ecoli/

http://www.cdc.gov/foodborne/ecolispinach/

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/spinacqa.html

http://www.ebfarm.com/press/SpinachUpdates/

http://www.riverranchfreshfoods.com/