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Sept. 21, 2006 -- Fresh spinach and products containing fresh spinach should remain off U.S. plates, following a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to one death and scores of illnesses.
Here are 14 questions and answers for consumers about the outbreak and spinach warning.
Q. How long will the FDA's warning on fresh spinach last?
A. Until further notice.
"That's a particularly difficult question to answer," CDC spokeswoman Christine Pearson tells WebMD.
"Typically, with food-borne outbreaks, it really is a process of just trying to get all the information you can and so it may take a while to get to that point," Pearson says.
"The ban on spinach will last until FDA releases the alert," Richard Linton, PhD, tells WebMD in an email. "This will occur once FDA is comfortable that they have isolated the source of potentially contaminated product. This will likely take days to weeks."
Linton is a professor of food safety and director of the Center for Food Safety Engineering at Purdue University.
Q. What is E. coli?
A. E. coli is a bacterium. There are hundreds of strains of E. coli bacteria; the strain involved in the current outbreak is E. coli 0157:H7.
Q. Is this strain of E. coli more dangerous than other strains?
A. Yes.
"E coli 0157 is a particularly dangerous type of E. coli because it can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome," says Pearson. "So it can be more severe for people."