Multistate E. coli outbreak tied to bagged spinach

9-15-2006 @11:45AM Walter F. Barber said... In addition to bagged spinach, i'd check all bagged salads to insure they do not contain spinach.
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9-15-2006 @12:03PM B said... Or just don't buy bagged greens. It seems like everytime there's an outbreak like this, the culprit is bagged salads.
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9-15-2006 @12:10PM Fash said... I live in Madison, WI...and I read about this outbreak last night promptly after I had eaten a giant salad made from a bagged spinach and romaine mix.

So I was thrilled by this news. Anyway, it's my understanding that if what I ate was affected, I would absolutely *know* by now.

I'm taking a deep breath and asking a potentially idiotic question here, but how does "triple-washed" produce become contaminated with E. coli? I thought it was only a meat/poultry/egg/dairy related thing.
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9-15-2006 @12:20PM Laura said... To be blunt: Produce becomes contaminated with E. coli when it's got shit on it.
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9-15-2006 @12:32PM Better said... In addition to the #5 Comment, which I agree...E Coli is also easy to introduce onto Produce and Poultry/Meats by people NOT WASHING their HANDS with soap after going to the Bathroom. Since there are now many Illegal Immigrants in this country who have poor Sanitation Habits and are working in the Food Industry, this now becomes a likely source for the E-Coli contamination.
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9-15-2006 @1:23PM savvy said... I think it is unfair to blame outbreaks like this on immigrants. We don't know how it happend or why, and I think it is a false generalization to say that illegal immigrants have poor sanitation habits.

I know of a manufacturing facility that had bacteria problems because truck drivers that transporting materials to and from the facility were letting their dogs poop in the yard. Factory workers would walk through the poop without knowing it, tracking it into the facility.
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9-15-2006 @1:24PM Denise said... Wow, way to generalize there, Better. It's a well known fact that all American citizens properly wash their hands every time they use the washroom.

This is pretty scary. I buy bagged produce because it's triple washed and I don't have to worry about washing it well enough. Guess it's back to scrubbing everything.
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9-15-2006 @2:38PM Fash said... I guess that's why I asked how it ended up on "triple-washed" produce...according to this article, washing will not get rid of E. coli.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/15/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html

This gives us all an excuse to forgo green leafy salads and stick to safer foods, like birthday cake.
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9-15-2006 @3:55PM Punisher2K said... Since only 60 people eat spinach, that's pretty high!
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9-15-2006 @10:04PM Adriane said... E-coli can come from contaminated water. This is why the bagged lettuce is the culprite, since it is all prewashed. If the factory packaging the greens was using contaminated water (unfiltered, dirty water..nice huh?)- BAM, E-coli spread all over each leaf. Ew.

This is the most likely senario- and certainly doesn't have anything to do with immigrants not washing their hands...Please don't spread such horrible stereotypes!
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9-18-2006 @7:07PM Steve said... My wife is a Japanese immigrant. Her standards of cleanliness (as are the standards of all Japanese people that I’ve met) exceed any standard that I’ve ever seen anywhere in the US. So, be careful when making any blind statements concerning immigrants and sanitation.
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9-25-2006 @12:46AM Villarreal said... Two comments for the guy who said those things about te immigrants:

1.- I'm from Mexico and I'm a Food Industries Engineer. I know many places in your country where people have bad higiene habits as well as I know in my country. Don't say then that americans are 100% pure and clean because the place where E. coli O157:H7 was discovered was a Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant which was in the US.

2.- Spinach was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. It's obviously you just talk without knowing facts; that bacteria in particular is not in humans, (unless you get infected) humans only have some kinds of E. coli which are dangerous but not deadly if well treated. E. coli has many many species and the most dangerous of all (O157:H7) is not in us, but in the intestines of poultry and cattle (mostly cattle).

E. coli as well as many other bacterias can infect the food with Bad Manufacture Practices; things like using the same knife to cut raw meat and cooked meat can cause a cross contamination. Not cooking well or having a bad refrigeration (higher than 4.4° C) can also let them live just to mention some things. If you're not sure of the source of the food you're about to eat, ask for the procedure or check it well. If you cook meat in your house be sure to put it at least 60° C for 2 minutes and for answering something that someone said about the washing; it's dangeruos if you rinse the food, but if you wash it (with soap or sanitizer) then it's safe.
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9-28-2006 @10:10AM Taz said... Now before everybody gets their panties in a twist -
re-read the post by "Better".
"Better" DID NOT say "immigrants".
"Better" DID say "ILLEGAL immigrants".
As for comments by "Villarreal", from the CDC -
"Escherichia coli O157:H7 ... Among other known sources of infection are consumption of sprouts, lettuce, *spinach*, salami, unpasteurized milk and juice, and by *swimming in or drinking sewage-contaminated water.*
*Bacteria in loose stool of infected persons can be passed from one person to another if hygiene or hand washing habits are inadequate.* This is particularly likely among toddlers who are not toilet trained. Family members and playmates of these children are at high risk of becoming infected.
Young children typically shed the organism in their feces for a week or two after their illness resolves. Older children and adults *rarely* carry the organism without symptoms."

Words and phrases within "*" signifies "my" emphasis.
The point I make is this - We can in NO way rule out the "ILLEGAL immigrant" as being the culprit in this outbreak because, quite simply, we do NOT know "who" or "what" is coming into this country ILLEGALLY!
Likewise we can NOT rule out other various possibilities, but again, we can in NO way rule out the "ILLEGAL immigrant"
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10-10-2006 @11:36AM David White said... I have friend who has a son living in California near some of these farms. The son stated that the immigration officials have changed their tactics. Now instead of chasing around after illegal immigrants they just stay near the porta-potties and check for green cards as the workers approach the facilities. So the workers changed. Now they don't use the porta-potties.
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11-02-2006 @4:47PM elou23 said... Read frosty woolridge's article "spinach salad anyone?" It pertains to this topic very well and is a good way to back up anything you say about illegal immigrants bringing E coli
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