Fresh spinach from California recalled

[TechBear_Seattle]

Source: Associated Press via Yahoo

WASHINGTON - A California produce company recalled bagged fresh spinach Wednesday after it tested positive for salmonella.

There were no immediate reports of illness linked to the tainted spinach, distributed by Metz Fresh LLC of King City, Calif. The recall comes nearly a year after an outbreak of another pathogen, E. coli, in fresh spinach killed three people and sickened another 200.

The recalled spinach was distributed throughout the 48 states and Canada and sold in both retail and food service packages. It covers 8,118 cases of spinach, although the company said more than 90 percent of that was on hold and would not be released.

...

The recall covers 10- and 16-ounce bags, as well as 4-pound cartons and cartons that contain four 2.5-pound bags, with the following tracking codes: 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314.

Consumers with questions can contact Metz Fresh at 831-386-1018.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070829/ap_on_he_me/tainted_spinach

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Here we go again. :eyes:

[TwilightGardener]

1. Dammit! I love fresh baby spinach! I just got comfortable with eating it again.

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. I never buy it commercially any more

There is a farmer's market every Sunday in my part of Seattle, just three blocks from where I live. I do as much produce shopping there as I can.

[BonnieJW]

3. But couldn't that spinach be tainted too?

Why is only commercially grown spinach a problem? I'm asking because I love it too and have it every day. Right now I buy organic spinach, but I think the spinach tainted with E-coli was organic.

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Err... post #5 should have been a response to you. n/t

[fed-up]

10. if you are buying commercial organic spinach watch out for perchlorate (rocket fuel)

and a quick google found this, not what I was looking for, but a start and an interesting website to boot
I'll let you google more info

http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/

http://www.eatlocalchallenge.com/2006/09/lettuce_be_info.html
Rocket fuel? According to an article published by the Environmental Working Group, most of the lettuce that we eat in the winter is grown in a region of California and Arizona that is irrigated by the Colorado River, which is contaminated by a chemical from rocket fuel, perchlorate. The EPA even has established “safe” limits for perchlorate consumption, which is fascinating since prior to my "greens" research I had never even heard of it.

While the water itself is within legal limits, lettuces are thirsty vegetables, and tend to concentrate the chemical in their leaves, on average up to 65 times the level in the water source.

High concentrations of perchlorate can impair the thyroid’s ability to take up iodide and produce hormones critical to proper fetal and infant brain development. You can find more information on this topic from the Environmental Working Group’s web site.

You can find the alternate view of perchlorate’s relative safety at the Council on Water Quality’s web site and decide for yourself. The “Myths and Facts” section of the site claims, “Further, because low levels of perchlorate (below 245 ppb) have no measurable effect on human health … total removal of perchlorate serves no purpose. In fact, doing so could cost millions of taxpayer dollars for treatment facilities …” The Council on Water Quality is supported by Lockheed Martin, Aerojet, Tronox and American Pacific Corporation. Lockheed Martin is one of the primary users of perchlorate and a primary source of the perchlorate contamination in the Colorado River.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Much less likely

The farmer's market represents small, mostly organic farmers. The salmonella and E. coli problems have arisen directly because of the practices of commercial factory farms such as spraying liquified manure as fertilizer and the very unsanitary conditions forced on seasonal workers.

[davidwparker]

8. thanks for your comment. it made me use the google on the internets to

find famers' markets in my area. I had just been buying whatever organic that I can find at more upscale, chain markets.

[fed-up]

9. you should only be paying about half price at farmer's market as compared to retail stores

My boyfriend is an organic farmer

here is an example of pricing

He sells red onions for $1.00 lb at the farmer's market
he sells to the co-op in bulk for $ .80-$1.00 a lb
they then sell his onions for about $1.79

it should always pay to cut out the middle man


for greens and most other perishables his are picked fresh the day/evening before and only stored overnight

most stores are selling produce that is a few days old primarily due to transit time
also many stores hold greens for days until there is room on the shelf and some large chains may take up to a week from farm to store shelf
valuable nutrients are lost....


and think of the savings in fuel and to the environment if you buy local
a win, win all the way round

plus you get to meet a lot of really neat people at your farmer's market :) farmers and shoppers alike

[davidwparker]

22. thanks for the info

[bahrbearian]

4. Was chimpy romping though the feilds again?

[Mojorabbit]

7. I am looking at my 2.5 lb bag

and I see a barcode.There is also a number 5685. I wonder if this is the number they are talking about. I called and get an answering machine. My chickens are waiting for their afternoon snack of spinach.

[AlCzervik]

11. so was our guinea pig, you should have seen him last time when the spring mix was recalled

the look of disgust on his face when his new chow hit the bowl was hilarious, he would look at it, sniff and then look at me like "What are you kidding?".

[Tanuki]

13. Did you know that guinea pigs love dandelion greens?

You probably have some nice, free guinea pig food growing in your own yard!

[AlCzervik]

14. no i did not know that, thanks for the tip.

:hi:

[Mojorabbit]

17. Oh I do know..

believe me. My mistake for making this an evening ritual. LOL
My rabbits are even worse.

[Le Taz Hot]

12. Ah, agri-business.

Once again. Just one more reason to buy from local farmers.

[harpboy_ak]

15. Why I have a salad garden

Since I don't have a lot of time to garden, I only bother growing salad stuff and spuds. Even when I lived in a apartment, I had window boxes with baby carrots and leaf lettuce (and no slugs on the second floor!). You can grow organic mesclun mix, arugula, or spinach in a window box with little effort.

[Mojorabbit]

18. I do that in the cooler months

but in the summer here in florida greens turn bitter and bolt in this heat.

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. That is good to know, thanks

I've been growing cooking herbs and strawberries for years; I will give spinach a try next spring.

[mcscajun]

16. Oh, no; not again!

I have rarely bought bagged salad greens of any kind, but I know those who do. :(

[KurtNYC]

20. Thank God it wasn't packed by Alberto Gonzales because if it was

he would "not recall" !

[LanternWaste]

21. How do we blame this on China? There must be some way...

How do we blame this on China? There must be some way... :sarcasm:

Thank goodness I eat junk food-- more often than not, my daily serving of vegetables is whatever I decide to put on the pizza at the last minute.

[depakid]

23. Coporate agribusiness and globalization

It's all part of a larger picture.