After Routine Tests, Metz Fresh Found Salmonella Bacteria in Spinach

04/09/07 After carrying out independent routine tests on all its products Metz Fresh, LLC found traces of salmonella bacteria in its spinach bags and is voluntarily recalling them. The company and local authorities say they have received no reports of human infection associated with the Metz Fresh spinach. Anybody who may have bought the said spinach should get rid of it immediately, says the company.

The company says the spinach is distributed under the label Metz Fresh, in both retail and food service packages. Included in this recall is spinach in the following presentations:

-- and 16 oz bags
-- 4-2.5 lb. and 4 lb. cartons
-- spinach that bears the tracking codes 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314

The products are distributed in the USA mainland and Canada.

Andrew Cumming, Metz Fresh President, said "Nothing is more important to Metz Fresh than the safety of our consumers, period. As soon as we learned of the presumptive positive test, we directed all customers to hold all boxes of the spinach affected as a precaution. Now, with this positive test confirmation, there is no question that we would recall and destroy all spinach bearing these three codes."

The company says it has managed to put 'holds' on most of the cartons of spinach affected through its labeling and numbering system.

What is salmonella?

Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in people. They are living creatures which pass from the feces of animals or people to other animals or people. In the USA the most common types are salmonella serotype Typhimurium and salmonella serotype Enteritidis.

Who discovered salmonella?

Salmonella is named after Daniel Elmer Salmon (1850-1914), an American scientist. Although he claimed the credit for discovering the bacteria, his colleague, Theobald Smith actually discovered it.

What is Salmonellosis?

This is an infection with the salmonella bacteria. Most infected people develop fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear 12-72 hours after infection. The illness, which usually lasts from 4 to seven days, generally does not require treatment - the patient will usually recover on his/her own.

However, if the diarrhea is severe the patient may need to be hospitalized. Salmonellosis can be very dangerous if the infection spreads into the blood stream and other body sites. Those most likely to experience severe illness are the elderly, babies and people with weakened immune systems.