September 21, 2006—The FDA announced that Dole brand spinach was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Tests performed on samples of a bag of Dole spinach consumed by a New Mexico woman inflicted with E. coli confirmed the Dole spinach as the source of the outbreak.
The FDA has attributed 204 cases of E. coli O157:H7 to contaminated spinach. At least 102 hospitalizations resulted from this outbreak and at least one death is blamed on the tainted spinach.
On September 19, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration expanded its warning against eating bagged spinach to include all fresh spinach.
The victims are infected with the strain of E. coli called 0157:H7. Several of those infected during this outbreak have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious form of kidney failure. |
