SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. — As the number of people sickened in a nationwide \o7E. coli \f7outbreak pushed past 100, federal officials Saturday expanded an earlier warning against eating bagged spinach to include all fresh spinach and any product containing the raw greens.
"What we need to do is get a clear message to consumers," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's food safety branch. "The best thing ... is to simplify it."
Although the illnesses appear to be linked to packaged fresh spinach, health officials are concerned that consumers might not know if spinach in their sandwiches and salads came from a bag. Acheson said the recommendation will hold "as long as it needs to to protect public health."
The precaution, which does not apply to frozen greens, added to the woes of the nation's fresh spinach industry, which is centered in California. Even before the expanded warning was issued, UC Davis agricultural economist Daniel Sumner estimated that the crisis could cost the state's industry between $50 million and $100 million.
Growers were jolted by the FDA's new warning. "That pretty much eliminates the spinach crop for the time being," said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. Still, he said, "Better safe than sorry."
Investigators continued their probe Saturday of a sprawling farming business in San Juan Bautista, Calif., that late last week was tentatively linked to some of the 102 cases reported in 19 states since Aug. 2. (Officials lowered the number of states affected by one Saturday, citing an error in including Tennessee in Friday's count.) The virulent strain O157:H7 has killed one person, a 77-year-old woman in Wisconsin, and has left at least 16 with a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.
State health officials were at the headquarters of Natural Selection Foods, also known as Earthbound Farm, combing records and inspecting its 26,000-acre operation. The privately held firm, which describes itself as the largest producer of organic produce in North America, on Friday recalled all of its prepackaged fresh spinach, sold under 31 brand names including Dole Food Co., Pride of San Juan, Emeril and Trader Joe's.
The company has previously said that its organic produce alone was available in nearly three-quarters of the nation's supermarkets. Chains have hastened to pull the produce from shelves, including, as of late Saturday, fresh unpackaged spinach.
