F.D.A. Warns Against Eating Bag Spinach

Article in today’s New York Times — F.D.A. Warns Against Eating Bag Spinach, by Gardiner Harris:

    Consumers should avoid eating fresh bagged spinach after an outbreak of E. coli in
    eight states killed one person and sickened at least 49, federal health officials
    announced Thursday night.

    The outbreak involves a virulent strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, which produces
    a toxin that can lead to bloody diarrhea, kidney failure and, in rare cases, death.

    State and federal health officials have used genetic screening tools to confirm that
    all 50 people sickened by the disease suffered from the same bacteria, said Dr. David
    Acheson of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the F.D.A.