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Spinach returns to local grocery stores
By Laura Ford
Staff Reporter
It has been three weeks since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall on fresh spinach, and it can now be found once again filtering into local grocery stores.
Since Sept. 15, when the FDA issued the recall of all concerned products, produce sections in supermarkets nationwide have removed spinach from their shelves. But it was not soon enough for some victims of apparent contamination.
As of last week, there were 187 reported illnesses due to E. coli outbreaks, resulting in 97 hospitalized consumers, 29 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (a disorder involving a kind of kidney failure) and one confirmed death due to the infection, according to an FDA news release.
Cases of the illness due to spinach were reported in 26 states, including three cases in Maryland, two in Virginia and nine in Pennsylvania. There were no reported cases in Delaware of illness due to spinach consumption reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Sunday.
Local supermarkets removed spinach from the aisles as soon as they received the call. Bill Outten, produce manager at the Millville Town Center Super Giant, said, “Every day we were pulling different stuff.”
Outten said that, as the word got out on the seriousness of the danger, workers paid special attention to remove not only spinach, but also all items and mixes containing spinach.
“We’ve thrown away almost 300 bags of spinach and mixed spinach,” said Outten.
Donald Donahue, produce manager for Hocker’s Supercenter at Routes 26 and 17, said they sent the possibly effected spinach back to their supplier, Four Seasons, located in Pennsylvania.
Since the outbreaks, boxes have been coming in specifically noting: “Does not contain spinach,” with stickers on all leafy greens and mixes to alert store workers to the lack of the suspect vegetable.
The FDA has stated the outbreaks were traced back to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, Calif., and to one California county.
The virus strain has not yet been traced to a specific crop, but this is not the first time there has been a problem with E. coli outbreaks from the area. Because of this past outbreak and its nationwide repercussions, the FDA and the State of California stated they are expecting to have the industries develop a comprehensive plan in order to negate all possibilities of a repeat occurrence.
Local supermarkets said they are obtaining their new spinach stock from Colorado and Canada, far from the Salinas Valley in California, where the tainted spinach originated.
The Super Giant returned bagged Giant-brand spinach to the shelves Tuesday, Oct. 3. Dwayne Cornish, another Giant produce manager, said there is only one kind of regular leafy spinach coming in currently, but he expected additional types to filter in as the week continued.
Outten wanted to assure buyers the spinach returning to the market has been thoroughly monitored. “Giant has a very rigorous quality inspection team; they wouldn’t put it back on the shelves if it was bad.” The price of the spinach on the shelves at Giant had not been affected by the incident.
Hocker’s Superstore said they have not returned spinach to the shelves yet, but Donahue expected it to be out this coming week. He said he thinks Four Seasons is “waiting for the media to let the public know the spinach is OK to buy again.”
Food Lion on Route 26 said they had not received word yet on when they will again be selling the vegetable.
Meanwhile, spinach producers within Delaware issued a reminder that the state’s own spinach crop was not a suspected source in the outbreak.
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