CITY HALL — While visitors to any one of the four Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets may be wary of purchasing fresh spinach in the wake of a nationwide E.coli outbreak that has infected 183 people and killed as many as three others, city officials say it’s safe to dig in.
That’s because all spinach sold at the markets comes from growers with operations outside the three counties where the outbreak originated — Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara.
The latest update from the federal Center for Disease Control advises customers to not eat any fresh spinach grown in those counties, but has deemed any leafy green grown outside of those areas safe for consumption, “We do not have any farmers from San Benito, Santa Clara or Monterey counties,” said Laura Avery, the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market supervisor. “Our spinach was safe all along.”
Avery said spinach sold at Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets comes from growers in Los Angeles,Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Bernardino, Tulare, Orange and Fresno counties.
“There was a lot of confusion … from getting new press releases every day saying avoid commercially bagged spinach, then bunched or bundled spinach,” Avery said. “There were a lot of dueling press releases and people just didn’t know what was safe to buy.”
Restaurants were canceling orders for spinach because customers were leery of eating what they thought could be contaminated greens, Avery said.
“But with this information out there, I’m sure (today) we’ll be back to selling and buying spinach.”
Santa Monica’s Farmers’ Markets are held on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Federal health officials first became aware of the current outbreak on Sept. 13 after receiving several reports of people becoming ill. An investigation by the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Health Services determined that illnesses were caused by tainted spinach.
Other produce grown in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara counties is not implicated in this outbreak. Processed spinach — frozen and canned — is also safe to eat, federal health officials said.
Five companies that package and distribute fresh spinach and fresh spinach containing salad blends have announced voluntary recalls, including Natural Selection Foods in northern California, which distributes nationally, as well as to Canada and Mexico. No illnesses had been reported outside of the U.S. as of Tuesday, according to the CDC.
Natural Selection supplies many grocers, including Trader Joe’s.
E.coli O157:H7 causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.
Among those who have become ill during the recent outbreak, 52 percent were hospitalized, while 16 percent developed kidney failure. Seventy-two percent were female and 9 percent were children under 5 years old. No deaths have been reported in California, according to the CDC.
A previous outbreak involving fresh spinach occurred in California in October of 2003. Sixteen cases of illness were reported and two people died, federal health officials said.
More than half the nation’s annual 500 million-pound spinach crop is grown in California’s Monterey County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The strand of E.coli responsible for the outbreak can be killed by cooking spinach at 160 degrees for 15 seconds, according to the CDC. Raw spinach, if not handled properly, could contaminate other foods.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 27, 2006. Read the original PDF.