The warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), saying that bagged spinach is likely the cause of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections, strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. Spinach is the poster child of healthy eating -- replete with vitamins, minerals, possibly healthful antioxidants such as beta-carotene -- it has long been a food that parents lovingly urge on reluctant children. Because diets with ample amounts of fruits and vegetables are associated with better health, consumers have been looking for ways to incorporate them more frequently and conveniently into their diets.
Producers of fresh produce have responded by making it easier for busy consumers to get their fruits and veggies in as convenient a way as possible. Now one can find pre-cut fruits and salad fixings in virtually any large grocery store in the country. Although these items are supposedly washed and ready for consumption when purchased, sometimes accidents occur.
A couple of years ago, some pre-washed, bagged organic lettuce was found to be contaminated with E. coli -- probably because of the use of manure-contaminated water when it was washed. Now, we have outbreaks of E. coli infections in eight states, according to the CDC, apparently stemming from consumption of bagged fresh spinach.
What's a consumer to do?
First, wash all fresh produce under running water carefully, especially that which will be consumed without cooking (see ACSH's report on Foodborne Illness), whether it's bagged or not. Second, urge food purveyors to use all modern technologies to prevent such contamination from reaching consumers. We don't know if the source of the E. coli was organic spinach or not. Such produce, because it is more likely to be fertilized with manure than conventionally raised crops, has a higher probability of being contaminated with manure. There are no demonstrated health advantages to organic foods compared to conventional ones, and in the case of salad greens, there may be a large disadvantage.
Although supposed "consumer activists" repeatedly urge consumers to forgo supposedly pesticide-laden conventional produce because of bogus health claims, these current outbreaks may well undercut their claims of organic superiority.
Importantly, the CDC recommends that bagged spinach purchased recently should be discarded -- not washed or anything else. Just throw it away and buy more next week.
UPDATE: Yet another action consumers should consider is to press the FDA and other overseers of the nation's food supply to extend protective food irradiation to produce such as spinach and other salad greens. Irradiation treatment is usually considered more for sanitizing beef or poultry (see ACSH's booklet on Irradiated Foods), but several articles have been published recently in the scientific literature (e.g. Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 65, No. 9, 2002, pages 1388–1393: Suspending Lettuce Type Influences Recoverability and Radiation Sensitivity of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Brendan A. Niemira, Christopher H. Sommers, and Xuetong Fan) suggesting that such treatment could go far in protecting consumers of lettuce and other greens from E. coli and other bacterial infections. Ironically, people who consume only organic produce for their supposed health benefits could not benefit from such sanitation because irradiation is not allowed under the USDA's organic rules.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., is Director of Nutrition at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
