[Consider]

Did you catch the news about the e coli in spinach?

And did you catch that the e coli was IN the spinach, not on the leaves?

That was a shocker to me...

The news clip ... I forget which network, showed the e coli in the actual leave. In the leave. not on it. That is what startled me.

Now, maybe the picture was wrong, and the commentary was wrong, but they were saying that the e coli went up into the plant and then set up its life cycle inside the plant...

This video from NBC says that even frozen spinach may contain the e coli and it may still be dangerous...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14841731/


This is, I think, the underlying source:

Originally Posted by PubMed

The transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from manure-contaminated soil and irrigation water to lettuce plants was demonstrated using laser scanning confocal microscopy, epifluorescence microscopy, and recovery of viable cells from the inner tissues of plants. E. coli O157:H7 migrated to internal locations in plant tissue and was thus protected from the action of sanitizing agents by virtue of its inaccessibility. Experiments demonstrate that E. coli O157:H7 can enter the lettuce plant through the root system and migrate throughout the edible portion of the plant.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/art...i?artid=126537

[Jackrabbit379]

Yeah,that is right. Someone died from it. Our customer service dept called all customers that ordered spinach,to return it back to the warehouse. I had a customer return the case of fresh spinach that they ordered because of that. I didnt belive him the whole time when he told me about the office calling them about the whole thing. I thought he was kidding. I got back to our yard,and we have a double wide trailer for an office,and the district sales manager was there. He told me about whole thing. I couldnt belive it.

[Consider]

Oh wow, I hadn't thought about that... about how it was being hauled around. Gosh.

but one case sounds pretty small.

Some of the stations were saying that it was because the refrigeration wasn't working properly. But I think they made that up, because the network news focused on the cow manure and one channel, but I forgot which, said that the e coli could actual be INSIDE the plant. I thought that was nearly science fiction.

Then I wondered if the chemical fertilizer people planted it... to up sales of none-cow-fertilizer...

(Where does this conspiracy theory gene come from... is it a gene, do you think??????)

[Jackrabbit379]

Yeah,I dunno. Dont know if it was just a bad batch,or what. It sure was a freak accident. Someone happened to catch it. Bad thing.

[Consider]

I guess quite a few people got sick.

the recall was HUGE.

I don't think they "recall" so much as throw away...
But they interviewed one farmer in this HUGE field and he said all of it was going to have to be destroyed...

I think the reason so many people were affected may be how many more people are eating spinach... I forget the numbers but they were very large, and way up from a few years ago.

I was thinking about how I used to get it in those little bags because they are so easy.... have to think again about that.

[Windwalker]

I could be wrong, but isn't E Coli destroyed by cooking? I've never eaten raw spinach. But I can sure pile it on my plate after it's been cooked. Now, lettuce, on the other hand, I have never had cooked. That could be a problem. Or isn't the spinach cooked well enough to destroy the bacteria?

[P Jug Joe]

Ever heard of a spinach salad? That's raw.

[Windwalker]

Originally Posted by P Jug Joe

Ever heard of a spinach salad? That's raw.

Never had it.

[Malaki86]

I always knew there was a reason for me to not like spinach.

[Consider]

Originally Posted by Windwalker

I could be wrong, but isn't E Coli destroyed by cooking? I've never eaten raw spinach. But I can sure pile it on my plate after it's been cooked. Now, lettuce, on the other hand, I have never had cooked. That could be a problem. Or isn't the spinach cooked well enough to destroy the bacteria?

Hi Windwalker

Yes, cooking kills it.

But see, the Baby Spinach is just delicious raw.. and there are some great salads with it.

So a lot of people began eating it instead of iceberg lettuce. There's all this nutrition information about how the darker green vegetables are richer in nutrients than the iceberg lettuce.

But... the big, But...

what I just don't quite understand is why this is happening now. I mean, haven't we been fertilizing with cow manure for eons?

Maybe it's just because so many more people are eating it, making it so that there's that much more chance for problems.