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Update to Advisory Regarding Spinach Related E. Coli Outbreak
September 29, 2006
To date, 175 cases of illness due to E. coli infection have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 28 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), 93 hospitalizations and one death.
FDA is working closely with CDC and the state of California. FDA has determined that the spinach implicated in the outbreak was grown in three counties: Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara in California.
Spinach grown in the rest of the United States has not been implicated in the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. The public can be confident that spinach grown in the non-implicated areas can be consumed.
Consumers are advised not to purchase or consume fresh spinach if they cannot verify that it was grown in areas other than the three California counties implicated in the outbreak. Other produce grown in these counties is not implicated in this outbreak. Processed spinach (e.g., frozen and canned spinach) is also not implicated in this outbreak.
Industry is working to get spinach from areas not implicated in the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak back on the market. Investigators from FDA, CDC and the state of California are working to narrow the area implicated in the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak even further.
For questions about the outbreak and updates to the situation, please check the FDA’s website.
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