Spinach stores in short supply
E. coli makes vegetable scarce at supermarkets
By Katie Kellogg, senior writer
Posted on September 21, 2006

Consumers can expect to find bare spaces on shelves where bags of spinach used to sit in supermarkets across the country.

An outbreak of E. coli has infected 114 people in 21 states so far, including Virginia, and has caused one death, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak, which is believed to have stemmed from fresh spinach, has caused the FDA and the Center for Disease Control to issue a warning to all consumers not to eat any fresh spinach or salad mixes that contain spinach.

The concern led retailers such as Wal-Mart to pull spinach from their shelves, and in some cases institute special restrictions to ensure no consumer buys spinach from their stores.

Marisa Bluestone, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said Wal-Mart has placed a sales restriction on spinach so that even if a bag remained on the shelf, the bag could not be scanned when the customer tried to pay for it.

“We are always going to err on the side of safety where our customers are concerned,” Bluestone said.

Other supermarkets have also taken extra precautions to protect consumers. “I was in [Food Lion] the other day, and they had signs up warning people about the problem,” senior Justine Emilio said.

Students at JMU won’t be finding spinach available at any of the dining facilities around campus either.  Stephanie Hoshower, the Director of Dining Services at JMU, said after the FDA issued the alert regarding spinach last Friday, Dining Services made the decision to stop offering spinach in the dining halls.

“In response to the alert issued by the FDA, we immediately stopped using all products containing spinach,” Hoshower said. “We will not offer these options as part of the dining program until the FDA proclaims the products safe and consumer confidence is restored.”

E. coli causes those who become infected with it to develop diarrhea that is often bloody and accompanied by abdominal cramps. While most people recover within a week, some people develop a form of kidney failure known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome. It can lead to death, particularly in very young children and the elderly. The CDC reported 18 people out of the 114 known E. coli infections developed the syndrome.

Although there has been no proven evidence that any one brand of spinach is responsible for the outbreak, the company Natural Selection Foods, LLC  is voluntarily recalling all of their products that include spinach, that contain “Best if used dates” of Aug. 17 through Oct. 1, according to the Natural Selection Foods Web site.

Currently, the FDA and CDC are still investigating the outbreak. Individuals who believe they may have come into contact with contaminated spinach and feel ill should contact their health care provider immediately.