Foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls involving pre-packaged leafy greens have sickened thousands and killed scores of Americans during the past decade.
For example, just one incident, the 2006 California baby spinach outbreak, caused 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths. In the face of intense pressure to reform following that outbreak, California growers adopted voluntary standards that were touted as a significant food safety improvement.
But one has to wonder how far we have come based on the results of a new Consumer Reports study of various pre-washed, packaged salad greens.
As reported in the March 2010 issue, Consumer Reports product testers found unacceptable concentrations of fecal contamination and other bacteria when sampling 208 containers representing 16 different brands purchased at stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
“Several industry experts we consulted suggested that for leafy greens, an unacceptable level of total coliforms or enterococcus is 10,000 or more colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) or a comparable estimate. In our tests, 39 percent of samples exceeded that level for total coliforms and 23 percent for enterococcus,” the report said.
While this relatively small sample did not uncover traces of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella or Listeria, the coliforms and enterococcus are often used to gauge possible pathogen contamination.
Packages with higher bacteria levels had similarities, the report said. Many contained spinach and were one to five days from their use-by date. Packages six to eight days from their use-by date fared better.
The sample included greens packed in plastic clamsells and bags, which made no difference. Nor did it matter if the packages contained “baby” greens, or were organic.
Since 1993, at least 20 E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been traced to California-grown leafy greens – primarily lettuce and spinach. Most of these outbreaks involved packaged product that, despite several chlorinated washes, contained sufficient numbers of E. coli O157:H7 to cause infection at the time of consumption.
Based on the Consumer Reports research, it’s only a matter of time before we get hit again.
