There are two bags of frozen organic spinach residing in my freezer at this very moment.  Ironic because I hate frozen foods, but I sometimes purchase them when at food stores that look like they have high quality merchandise.  In this case I purchased the spinach at Trader Joe's, but frozen and canned spinach are not subjects of this FDA Warning.  Nor, is locally grown spinach purchased at your farmer's market (as long as your farmer's market is not located in San Juan Bautista, Salinas, Santa Clara or Monterey California). As of Sunday, September 17 the FDA Warning extends to loose, fresh spinach as well as the bagged, fresh spinach.

I bring this up because I notice that the press, especially the network and cable news shows, are making a point of saying that consumers should throw out their fresh, bagged spinach.  The Warning reads "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing an alert to consumers about an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in multiple states that may be associated with the consumption of produce. To date, preliminary epidemiological evidence suggests that bagged fresh spinach may be a possible cause of this outbreak.  Based on the current information, FDA advises that consumers not eat bagged fresh spinach at this time. Individuals who believe they may have experienced symptoms of illness after consuming bagged spinach are urged to contact their health care provider. "

Why am I making a big deal out of this?  Well let's put aside that there is no mandatory recall by the FDA of fresh, bagged spinach. The FDA is simply telling consumers not to eat the product "at this time."  Stores, Earthbound Farm and Natural Selection Foods, however, are wisely and voluntarily recalling the product. The press, however, is instructing consumers to "throw it out."  Who gave the press the authority to tell viewers (and by extension all consumers) to throw the spinach out thereby restricting refunds? I highly recommend that before you discard the spinach that you first call the store where you purchased it and see if they will take it back for a refund.  Saving the spinach until the issue is resolved would be an interesting test, but I fear that it may not be edible by the time the very specific source of the E.coli is identified.  In any event, not eating the spinach and asking for a refund is the best and safest recourse.

I just checked with Trader Joe's and they will "absolutely take back fresh, bagged spinach for a refund" and I am confident so will most other stores.  Please don't automatically do everything the press throws out there especially when your hard-earned money is involved.  They are protecting the corporations that own them.  A wise person once told me: "Act.  Don't React."

Editors Note--Statements from Earthbound Farm (aka Natural Selection Foods) can be read by clicking here.  It is interesting to note that even the Natural Selection Foods statement includes an instruction to consumers to throw the spinach out without requesting a refund.  Another sidebar to this whole issue is of course the idea of buying either organic or coventional produce that is grown on big, corporate farms thousands of miles from where you live. 

Click here for a letter from the Produce Industry about returning spinanch to the marketplace.