Bagged Spinach and E-Coli Warning!

kraphti

Cathlete
I saw this on the news first thing this morning. What a bummer, I eat 3-4 bags a week because they are so convient and right now spinach is my fave for salads ;(

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060915/ap_on_he_me/tainted_spinach_22

I always re-wash my pre-washed bagged veggies, my BF said it's over kill, I say uh-uh because I know they are well washed. I don't know if this actually washes away any dangerous bacteria...I do it because I'm just anal that way.

Do any of you re-wash your pre-washed goodies?
 
its best to always wash anyway. my mom works produce and does the orders and the boxes and crates that some of this stuff comes in is pretty nasty. they ususally wash(i believe they use that FIT wash that you can also find in produce dept.) but its best to wash anyway. even in the bags,b/c even some bags might have holes in them or something, and ppl handling the stuff you never know whats on them. and just b/c its pre-washed doesn't mean its completey cleaned.

btw thanks for the articles i have to send this over to friends right away.

kassia

http://www.picturetrail.com/ldy_solana

"And do what thee wilt as long as ye harm none"
 
I put spinach in my salads every day, and no, I never pre-washed it. Oops!

"You can't win them all - but you can try." - Babe Zaharias http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/musik/music-smiley-004.gif[/img]
 
>Do any of you re-wash your pre-washed goodies?


Absolutely!
I frankly find it incomprehensible NOT to do so, because it may have been washed at one time, but who knows what handling it went through during and after the procedure. Though I will admit, the other day, I did grab some 'prewashed' organic baby carrots straight from the bag.
 
On the Today Show, experts were saying that even washing the spinach won't help. If the water that was used to grow the spinach was contaminated, then the E coli is inside of the spinach and no amount of washing will get rid of it. So toss all of your spinach. I sadly threw away all of mine this morning ( I, too, eat spinach salads almost every day :( )

Becky
 
>I think today I'll pick up a bottle of Veggie-Wash.
>Has anyone tried one of these types of cleaners?

I use them, but you can accomplish the same thing with either a bit of white vinegar in water, some grapefruit seed extract in water, hydrogen peroxide in water or (less environmental) a dash of bleach in water. I've also seen 'recipes' for this including baking soda, but can't remember the exact ingredients off-hand, and know that baking soda + vinegar makes foam, so that may not be it.
 
So is it just the pre-bagged spinach we have to avoid? What about the loose spinach in the produce section that we bag ourselves? Is that safe?
 
I never rewash my prewashed lettuce/spinach- now I am rethinking that. My DH called me first thing this morning to let me know. I threw out one and a half bags:( I love spinach in my omlete(with mushrooms and tomatoes!!
Deanie:)
 
I wonder if that includes organic spinach sold in plastic boxes from Costco? I have to confess, the package says "tripled washed", and I believe them!
I eat spinach everyday in a morning omlette and dinner salad. What's the best way to wash leaf veggies? Should I invest in a salad spinner?

If it ain't one thing....it's another! :-(
 
I buy the organic pre washed spinach that comes in a plastic container and I still threw it out to be on the safe side.

Becky
 
I heard this last night. I too eat alot of bagged spinach. It's so convienient. I'm tossing a great salad I mixed a couple of days ago, that has spiniach in it. :( If you have to "cook" a hamburger at a certain temp. to kill E. Coli, I'd guess just washing spinach won't kill it.
 
>That really stinks! I had heard about e-coli warnings
>regarding meat, etc, but spinach!

I didn't know this either, until I read the "Food Revolution". I learned ALOT of scary stuff in that book.
 
>I had heard about e-coli warnings
>regarding meat, etc, but spinach!


Possibly from their using manure as fertilizer (e-coli pretty much originates in only one place!). Though it could be passed on from a human (who doesn't wash hands after using the facilities), it's probably not the case in an 'outbreak' situation.
 
Fit44...I'm not sure what brands are included. If I understand right, they found the common food that all of the people that were infected with e-coli was bagged spinach. I imagine after they do more fact finding, it will be narrowed down to specific brands. But for right now they are just warning everyone to be cautious of any bagged spinach. I stopped by one of my local grocery stores this morning and they were carting the all the bagged spinach to the back.
 
Geez, I guess I'm going to have a tomato and onion salad for dinner!
I'll really miss my spinach.:-(

I finished the bag I had in my fridge this morning. I've been eating it all week. If something was wrong, I would have noticed by now.
 

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