http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a3bt6FDZq.mc&refer=us

E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Bags of Spinach Spreads (Update2)

By Kevin Orland

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- A deadly outbreak of E. coli that may have come
from bags of fresh spinach has spread to two more states today, killing
one person and sickening dozens.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said one person has died and at
least 50 people in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico,
Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin have gotten ill. Today, authorities in Ohio
and Kentucky brought the count to 10. No brand or store has been
identified.

``It's probably too early to try to guess how many people might be
affected by this,'' said Gwenda Bond, spokeswoman for the Kentucky
Cabinet for Health and Family Services. ``Clearly, E. coli can be
serious, especially the kind we're seeing right now.''

The bacteria can cause low-grade fever, vomiting and diarrhea, often
with bloody stool, the FDA said. Most healthy adults recover within a
week, though some people develop serious kidney damage.

The victims in Ohio, who range in age from 15 to 46, reported becoming
ill between Aug. 5 and Sept. 2, said Bret Atkins, a spokesman for the
Ohio Health Department. Four cases have been reported in Kentucky, with
victims ranging in age from nine to 59, Bond said in an interview.

There are about 100,000 to 150,000 cases of E. coli in U.S. each year.
The last outbreak involving spinach was in California in 2003.

Removed From Shelves

Earthbound Farms, which says on its Web site that it is the largest
producer of specialty salads in the U.S., said today in an e-mailed
statement it is working with federal and state authorities to help
identify the source of the bacteria and giving them ``unfettered''
access to its facilities.

The San Juan Bautista, California-based company said customers should
dispose of any of their brand's packaged spinach and call the company
for a refund or replacement coupons.

Whole Foods Market Inc. removed fresh salad-ready spinach, bagged
salads containing the vegetable, spinach and spinach salad mixes in
hard plastic boxes and bulk bags, as well as the spinach at the salad
bar, spokeswoman Kate Lowery wrote in an e-mail to Bloomberg News.

Don't Eat It

The company, the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, posted a sign in
areas where spinach was located advising customers of the FDA alert and
that they shouldn't eat fresh bagged spinach at this time, Lowery said.
The signs in Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods' 183 stores directed
shoppers to the Web sites of the FDA and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.

Most stores stopped using spinach in prepared foods, she said.

Supervalu Inc., the second-largest U.S. supermarket chain, removed all
bagged spinach from store shelves ``out of an abundance of caution,''
spokeswoman Haley Meyer wrote in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg
News.

The Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company, which operates 2,500 grocery
stores under names including Albertson's and Save- A-Lot, also is
pulling all products containing fresh spinach leaves and putting them
on hold until more information is received, Meyer wrote.

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TC