Since the Food and Drug Administration first issued a warning against eating bagged fresh spinach on Sept. 15, Americans have been avoiding fresh spinach.
The warning came as a result of an outbreak of E. coli bacteria of the strain O157:H7 linked to spinach processed by Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, Calif. The FDA warning came after one death and 50 cases of illness had occurred; there have now been three deaths and approximately 200 cases of illness across 26 states linked to the contaminated spinach.
Almost a month later, on Oct. 12, the FDA confirmed that E. coli O157:H7 was present in samples of cattle feces on one of four ranches less than a mile from the suspected spinach fields in California's Salinas Valley. In an Oct. 13 New York Times article, Dr. Kevin Reilly of the California Department of Health Services called this match between E. coli O157:H7 in the tainted food and the manure "an unprecedented development in the scientific investigation of food-borne illnesses.
Because of the link between the Natural Foods plant and these specific fields, all spinach grown in the Salinas Valley and that was processed by Natural Foods LLC and dated for use between Aug. 17 and Oct. 1 was recalled. While many shoppers continue to avoid all spinach, the emergency no longer exists.
While the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and other government regulatory bodies struggle to retrace the outbreak and learn what could have caused or prevented it, consumers are left wondering what to do. Although health officials have made headway in matching the bacterial strain in the manure to the tainted spinach, the missing link in the investigation is exactly how the contaminated manure made its way onto the these specific crops.
In addition, other issues remain regarding factors affecting an outbreak on a national scale. According to Dr. Beatrice Rogers, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, "You don't get national outbreaks if you have local food. The more the food system is concentrated and food is shipped all over, the more likely it is that you can get this kind of national outbreak."
One reason why this outbreak has expanded as far as it has is because one region, the Salinas Valley, provides bagged vegetables to the entire United States.
However, the national nature of our food system is not necessarily bad for food safety. "If we reverted to a more traditional system of agriculture, food safety might improve dramatically," said Dr. Parke Wilde, a Friedman School assistant professor. "It's an area that needs more research."
Another question surrounds the unique nature of E. coli 0157:H7: There may be a strong link between the frequency of this particular strain of E. coli in the guts of cattle and our national farming practices.
A series of studies documented in a recent report by The Organic Center have shown that it is not normal for cattle to have E. coli 0157:H7 in their digestive tracts, but Kathleen Merrigan, an assistant professor at the Friedman School, doesn't necessarily agree.
"There is some evidence that cattle fed diets high in grain may be more likely to carry E. coli 0157:H7," Merrigan said.
The Organic Center reports that when cattle are "fed high-energy, grain-based rations, the pH in their digestive systems changes to favor E. coli 0157:H7" by making their GI tracts more acidic. The publication, which was distributed to California lawmakers in early October, also documents other farm practices that can increase or decrease the susceptibility of cattle to infection by E. coli 0157:H7.
This suggests that greater regulation of cattle-feeding practices may reduce E. coli 0157:H7 in the food system. Free-range cattle who can forage and eat grass may be healthier, and therefore, arguably better for humans than cattle fed with excess grain supplies.
Regardless of the original source of the E. coli 0157:H7 causing the outbreak, the national event has illustrated a problem with the national food safety system. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Rosa de Lauro (D-Conn.), have proposed a bill in Congress that would create a unified Food Safety Administration (FSA), combining the United States Department of Agriculture - which oversees meat and poultry production in the United States - and the FDA, which mostly concerns itself with fruits and vegetables.
Currently, there is no one agency ultimately responsible for preventing another such outbreak because of the lack of central authority in food safety regulation. According to Richard Raymond, Agriculture Department undersecretary for food safety, one of the strangest examples of the lack of coherence in food safety regulation is the fact that some kinds of cheese pizza fall under the purview of the FDA, while some kinds of pepperoni pizza are monitored by the USDA because they contain meat.
Experts point out that this is just one of many attempts to unify the USDA and the FDA. While Tufts professors agree that greater food safety regulation would be wise, there is disagreement about whether a new agency is necessary.
"There is another issue that's important: implementation," said Rogers. " The agency's effectiveness would depend on funding and staffing levels, legal powers to enforce and investigatory powers."
In addition, "the same tensions between competing government agencies are going to exist no matter how the job chart is structured," said Wilde. "The real question is: At what point will industry leaders say that their interests are served by stronger and more effective food safety regulations?"
It is possible that costs to the spinach industry caused by this outbreak may have been far lower had such regulations been in place. If this is true, growers might embrace the new regulations.
While the debate continues on a national level, consumers here on the East Coast should feel safe eating spinach again if they follow this expert advice: "Clearly [look] for the place of origin, unless you live in the Central Valley [of California]," said Rogers.
The FDA's advice for eating spinach safely:
1.) Do not to eat raw spinach or blends with date codes of October 1 or earlier that have been distributed by companies subject to recalls.
2.) Eat all frozen or canned spinach and other types of leafy greens, as well as local fresh spinach from other regions, as they have not been implicated in this outbreak.
3.) To maintain the quality of fresh produce, store all such food products in a refrigerator set to a temperature below 41 degrees.
4.) Cooking fresh spinach at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 seconds sanitizes the vegetable, even if E. coli was previously present.
5.) More detailed information about the outbreak can be found on the FDA's and USDA's Web sites.
