Can Spinach Give People Food Poisoning?

Yes, it can and in September 2006 it did so with tragic consequences. The USA suffered a nationwide outbreak of E coli food poisoning with the dangerous E. coli 0157 strain after people at contaminated baby spinach.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported on Tuesday September 26 that the outbreak had expanded to 183 cases in 26 states and Canada. Ninety-five people had been admitted to hospital. Twenty nine developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney complication. Two older women and a two year old child died from this complication during the outbreak.
Contamination of raw vegetables by bacteria able to cause severe food poisoning is rare. Many cases are linked to consumption of contaminated meat or fish products. Public health laboratories isolated E. coli O157:H7 from bags of spinach bought all over the USA. Federal and California health officials traced the information from lot numbers on the spinach bags to California farms.

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