Rutgers Spinach report: Part III

More from Rutgers Food Policy Institute:


Nearly all (95%) the respondents correctly reported that it was true that “bagged fresh spinach” had been recalled. However, when asked whether other types of spinach had been recalled, the percentage of incorrect and “don’t know” responses increased substantially. For example, only two-thirds (68%) knew that “loose fresh spinach” had been recalled. There is variability in the frequency of “don’t know” responses, ranging from the 3% for bagged spinach to as high as 21% for frozen spinach. Thus, not only were a significant portion of Americans wrong about what was recalled, an almost equally sizeable portion did not know whether certain types of spinach were recalled.


Many Americans thought that washing contaminated produce would make it safe to eat In their September 15, 2006 update on the outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections from fresh
spinach, the CDC provided general advice to consumers that they should “wash produce with clean cool running water just before eating and cut away damaged areas.” However, they also noted that “bacteria stick to produce even when it is washed, and sometimes the acteria are inside the produce11.” In addition, Robert Brackett, Director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition (CFSAN), was widely quoted advising consumers to discard any spinach they had already purchased, noting that simply washing the spinach would not make it safe to eat. Perhaps it was because of this contradictory advice, or because washing food is so often a recommended action for food safety12 that there was some confusion about the role of washing in eliminating possible contaminants. Yet, whether they had heard of the recall or not, 44% of Americans thought it true that properly washing contaminated food makes food safe to eat, and nearly half (48%) reported that the spinach recall caused them to wash their food more thoroughly. However, 64% recognized that the statement, “bagged spinach marked as ‘Triple washed’ is certain not to have any E. coli” is untrue.


Some Americans chose to eat fresh spinach despite the recall One of the key messages romoted by the FDA between September 14 and 22, 2006 was that all fresh spinach should be discarded. Yet, only 64% of those who were aware of the recall said that they had heard that “during the recall, no fresh spinach was considered safe to eat.” Of particular concern from a public health perspective is that more than one-in-eight Americans (13%) who were aware of the recall and ate spinach prior to the recall report having eaten fresh spinach during the recall. Moreover, nearly three-quarters of these (74%) said that they knew about the recall when they ate it (see Figure 3). Nearly one-third (30%) of those who eat spinach and were aware of the recall say that they had fresh spinach in their homes when they first learned about it. While more than three quarters (77%) reported ultimately discarding the spinach once they learned about the recall, more than one-quarter (27%) say they consumed some or all of the spinach they had at home and 72% of these say they knew about the recall at the time they ate it.



NEXT: After the recall