by Linda R.
Member since:
August 14, 2006

I Have a Question

September 19, 2006 10:25 AM EDT
views: 84 | comments: 26
Everyone who has read or watched the news recently has heard of the E Coli problem with fresh spinach and the recommendation that we discard any that we might have in the refrigerator.  Does anyone know if it's still OK to eat frozen spinach?
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Comments: 26

donna f. Sep 19, 2006, 10:26am EDT
Yes, Linda. Frozen is ok. It has been cooked, and the heat would kill any bacteria.
Linda R. Sep 19, 2006, 10:30am EDT
Thanks Donna.
I thought that cooking would help, but then I wondered why we are being advised to throw out our fresh spinach instead of just cooking it for a certain length of time or at a certain temperature..
Melissa G. Sep 19, 2006, 10:30am EDT
And if you cook your bagged spinach you can eat it then, just don't eat it raw.
Mary R Sep 19, 2006, 10:38am EDT
oh who eats raw spinich. I always buy the frozen kind in that as I don't like canned foods and only buy certain things in a can. Like tomatoes that you can't get fresh this time of year except hothouse that are too expensive and has no taste. anyway. the E- coli alwaysscares me a bit when you know you have already eaten something and then hear that
Tab B. Sep 19, 2006, 10:41am EDT
Question is: why is this happening again? I mean if this news circulated several years back, and now we face it once more? Will the bagged salad be next? Something's wrong somewhere in the manufacturing, right?
Green Limey Sep 19, 2006, 10:45am EDT
They're telling people to toss out the fresh spinach, because the E. coli bacteria in this case, is apparently too tightly bonded to the spinach, that cooking it will not get rid of it.
Fletcher Hawkins Sep 19, 2006, 10:54am EDT
Linda, I got concerned about this a while back and did a little online research. Here is a site that discusses what we can do at home with drugstore hydrogen peroxide and vinegar to treat the veggies we would like to eat raw. I haven't done it yet, but it seems easy enough.

http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arch/9_28_96/food.htm

Now, what to do about the ubiquitous salads in restaurants? I think 99 percent of the salad-fixin's are done by teenagers in the restaurant industry. How careful and hygienic are they?
Fletcher Hawkins Sep 19, 2006, 10:58am EDT
Cooking will indeed destroy the bacteria. The recommendations for meat say it must reach 160 degrees. When you boil your spinach, it is at 212 degrees.
Linda R. Sep 19, 2006, 11:04am EDT
Thanks. I'm not planning to buy any fresh spinach until this problem is resolved. I was just worried about the frozen spinach because I always have two or three packages of it in my freezer.

I will check out the vinegar and peroxide method Fletcher. Thanks for the links.
Katrina W. Sep 19, 2006, 11:04am EDT
Canned or frozen spinach is ok to consume.
Dawne Joy Sep 19, 2006, 11:13am EDT
Tab B., the Dole bagged salad was contaminated just last year.
Susan *. Sep 19, 2006, 11:19am EDT
...actually our family loves raw spinach salad but in the light of the recent problems...I don't think I will be purchasing any in the near future...it just isn't worth the chance...
Linda R. Sep 19, 2006, 12:15pm EDT
In other words Paul, your advice is to eat potato chips and candy instead :)
Carolyn K. Sep 19, 2006, 12:57pm EDT
that's too funny Linda
Julie L. Sep 19, 2006, 2:57pm EDT
I eat raw spinach in salads. Well not at the moment I don't. But they have said not even cooking it will kill it so I am not taking any chances with it at the moment. I am also concerned about other products that could possibly have been cross contaminated.
0000-sahm-0000 Sep 19, 2006, 3:15pm EDT
NOPE...

They took alllllllllllllllllll the spinach away!

I went to Olive Garden a few nights ago, forgot about the ecli situation with the spinach and ordered spagehtti with spinach in it and the waitress said they had to pull it from their menus because of the situation with spinach. Other people have told me they pulled all the spinachs off the shelves, even the frozen ones.

Here are some links to read:

Spinach Pulled From Locale Stores, Eateries

Q&A: A Closer Look At E. coli
0000-sahm-0000 Sep 19, 2006, 3:16pm EDT
Sorry, for my spelling errors!
Webbie Fades to Black Sep 19, 2006, 3:47pm EDT
I MISS SPINACH!!! :(
Linda R. Sep 19, 2006, 4:26pm EDT
Thanks for sharing the links Samantha. I didn't know there were so many kinds of E Coli.

We enjoy fresh and frozen spinach but we never have liked canned spinach which has a totally different taste and consistency.
cathy p. Sep 19, 2006, 8:18pm EDT
I am just thankful I don't like spinach!
Janet T. Sep 20, 2006, 12:13am EDT
They said in my local paper that it is likely the Ecoli came from animal manure. This would be a good time to buy orgainic spinach since it doesnt' use animal manure but instead uses compost from greenery. Hopefully they will be able to "fix" this soon. The farmers are struggling I'm sure.
Sandra L. Sep 20, 2006, 12:26am EDT
From what I understand, Janet, the spinach that was contaminated was organic.
Linda R. Sep 20, 2006, 6:49am EDT
I just hope they find the answer soon. Spinach is one of my favorite vegetables. I like turnip greens occasionally but I could eat spinach almost every day.
mama p. Sep 20, 2006, 9:12am EDT
The contamination can come from the ground/soil as well. A few years back when I lived in Ny a local fair was responsible for a tragic outbreak when cow feces from a nearby dairy farm contaminated the soil which ran into the wells used at the fair, which was then made into lemonade for patrons. My son had contracted it when he was three after feeding baby deer at a nearby amusement park. The important lesson that I have learned unfortunately, is to be germ-o-phobic. I boil all water well & tap. I carry premoistened towelettes with peroxide(which I will now add vinager to). If you've ever seen a child suffer from an e. coli infection, I'm sure that most of you would too.

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