On Friday the FDA finally said that it was safe to eat fresh spinach again. Although I've missed fresh spinach, I'm still a little leery. Is anyone else concerned?
I never stopped eating fresh spinach...! I buy mine at a roadside stand, know the water source & have full confidence in the farmer. Frozen & canned spinach was never in quetion & was pletniful...still is....! What you need to realize is that the contaminated spinach never made it to Florida...! we are lcky enough here that spinach is grown year 'round here......ask some of the folks up around Zellwood, near you....they can sell you good, non-contaminated spinach.
Lucky you, Doc. I wonder how contaminated food can make it as far as it does. We had warnings up here in Canada not to eat spinich from the USA, so it got up here too!!
Thanks Doc, I'll have to check that out. I do miss fresh spinach. Frozen spinach is great but it doesn't work in a salad. Canned spinach doesn't even come close. It gets ruined in the canning process.
I think it will be ok. I ate the bagged salad and lettuce last year right after they put it back on the market, it was fine. I'm sure the spinach is now too.
They did say it was all packaged in Ca, so local farms should be safe. I think part of the reason people were still getting sick is because, they didn't pay attention to the news. The news said even cooked it was NOT safe, and yet people kept saying, cook it and you are fine.
I am not going to eat the bagged spinach or lettuce anymore. I will buy the heads of lettuce and the spinach that is not in a bag. I have heard for a long time about all of the bacteria these bagged veggies contain.....despite the fact that the bag always says they have been washed over and over. They ran a study and found they were eaten up with bacteria even after this. And I know a lot of people who just assume since they are bagged and have been washed, there is no need to wash them again. Scary.
I think paranoia is taking over if we believe the Taliban contamined the spinach supply. I usually eat spinach cooked, so for now I'll stick with the frozen kind.
I'll wait a while longer before buying it again, even though I don't buy bagged spinach or salad as much anymore as it is. A year or so back someone I knew found a bug in their bagged salad. Alhtough this is more serious, it turned me off to it then, until slowly I started eating it again for convenience. Now I'll probably also go back to cutting up fresh lettuce and spinach.
I'm still going to hold off. I looked up Zellwood as Doc suggested but it appears to be in Orange County northwest of Orlando. I'm in Orange Park in Clay County near Jacksonville. I think that's a little too far to drive for spinach salad.
I live in CA and for now will only eat organic spinach. I think I have missed out on much of the spinach crops due to it's removal. For now, I don't expect buying any until closer to Thanksgiving.
I won't be eating any fresh spinach for probably at least a year. I do have some in cans though that I will eat. But if not spinich, what will be next thing to be contaminated? When our kids were in school, it was the strawberries in the school lunches that were contaminated. They were supposed to have come from the US but were actually from Mexico. We never know what will be next.
The fact is, the spinach out break was from a place that had a horrible water contamination, out in California. If you buy from a reputable supplier (organic is best) that has a great repuation you don't need to worry at all. Even the restaurant I work at is allowing spinach now. Theres no reason to fear it. I look at it like this. If I eat a 75% off taco from Jose's taco shack and get food poisening, I'm not going to forever fear tacos from say a Don Pablo's or La Cocina Mexicanne.
Also, I would highly recommend buying the spinach (and any produce for that matter) that is not in a prepackage. Buy it loose in the grocery store or at a farmers market. The amount of bacteria that is produced in prepackaging is quite suprising.
I have eaten bagged salad greens, but I have a problem with them rotting before I eat the last of it. The water that they use to wash the greens is treated with hypochlorite bleach which is supposed to kill all the bacteria, but it isn't strong enough to kill all the disease spores. If it was, you would be able to taste it. Because of the bleach water treatment, bagged salad is already dead and beginning to rot by the time it reaches the store shelf. A fresh head of lettuce that hasn't been pre-washed, shredded, and bagged will keep more than three times longer. It might wilt and go limp, but it won't be slimy and rotten!
To give an example of the current parinoia, while passing the sushi section of a local supermarket, the sushi had assurance labels, "Does not contain fresh spinach." I would generally hope not, although I'm sure that someone has made a roll with spinach, it's not in the common generic stuff they make at the supermarket.
Is soaking it and other veggies in a Vinegar (1/2 cup in 3 cups H2O solution) for 3-5 minutes going to kill e-coli. Is there any other solution that can be used to kill e-coli?
Cooking beyond 165 degrees is about the only thing that kills it.
As for the whole story, I say the best defense is to buy more local food. Of course bad things could happen anywhere to any food system, but at least when it's a close, local system only a few people get sick rather than hundreds or thousands.
To see more of what I mean please take a moment to read this:
Another Reason to Buy Locally: National Security http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976796070
Please provide details below to help Gather review this content. If it is found to be inappropriate and in violation of the Gather Terms of Service, action will be taken.
Please select the part of the post you are reporting.
Please select why you are reporting this content.
Please enter a description.
You have successfully submitted a report for this post.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 31
My kids are loving this.
I LOVE spinach!! But no, I am not ready to risk myself yet. I will keep waiting. Some of my local restaurants are still not serving spinach either.
Might feel safer anyway
Also, I would highly recommend buying the spinach (and any produce for that matter) that is not in a prepackage. Buy it loose in the grocery store or at a farmers market. The amount of bacteria that is produced in prepackaging is quite suprising.
Good look, and never fear. Hah
Trucchi
Cooking beyond 165 degrees is about the only thing that kills it.
As for the whole story, I say the best defense is to buy more local food. Of course bad things could happen anywhere to any food system, but at least when it's a close, local system only a few people get sick rather than hundreds or thousands.
To see more of what I mean please take a moment to read this:
Another Reason to Buy Locally: National Security
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976796070
Peace,
kmf