Voluntary Recall of Spinach to Minimize Risk and Afford Maximum Protection to Consumers

18/09/06 Tom Stenzel, president & CEO of the United Fresh Produce Association issued the following statement:

We understand that, in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Health Services Food and Drug Branch, Natural Selection Foods, LLC, a manufacturer of bagged spinach, has issued a voluntary recall of spinach in order to minimize risk and afford the maximum protection to consumers.

The fresh produce industry commends the company for taking this pro-active action to ensure consumer health. While we understand that no definitive evidence has yet linked E. coli 0157:H7 to a specific spinach sample, we applaud the company for voluntarily recalling product to ensure the utmost caution in protecting health.

Natural Selection Foods, LLC has reported in a news release announcing the recall that the affected product was packed by Natural Selection Foods, LLC under licensing agreements with other companies, and therefore, the spinach recall will include the following brands with "Best if Used by Dates" of August 17 to October 1:

List brands: Dole, Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, O Organic, Fresh Point, River Ranch, Superior, Nature's Basket, Pro-Mark, Compliments, Trader Joe's, Ready Pac, Jansal Valley, Cheney Brothers, Coastline, D'Arrigo Brothers, Green Harvest, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The Farmer's Market, Tanimura & Antle, President's Choice, Cross Valley and Riverside Farms. Recalled products include fresh spinach and products containing fresh spinach.

It is important to note that products that do not contain spinach are not part of this recall, nor have been implicated by FDA's investigation with regard to this outbreak.

The FDA investigation and the voluntary action taken by Natural Selection Foods, LLC help narrow concern about any continuing risk, and begins to ensure that product that may be potentially contaminated is removed completely from the food supply. We are encouraged by the thorough manner in which the federal and state regulatory investigations were conducted and by the company's ability to respond quickly. The industry will continue to work aggressively with FDA and other health authorities to ensure that there is no further risk to the public health.

Both government and industry are also continuing to work to determine the potential source of this problem and ensure that this type of outbreak does not occur again. We commend the FDA and industry for working together to first protect public health, and then isolate the cause of the outbreak in order to help restore confidence in the overall spinach industry as quickly as possible.