February 5, 2007: Spinach Still Off The Table

February 5th, 2007

According to a Rutgers University survey out today, consumers are still worried about eating spinach and other leafy green vegetables as a result of the E. coli outbreak and subsequent spinach recall last September.

“Clearly, the recall had a bigger effect on the public than just throwing away a few bags of spinach,” said William Hallman, Director of the Rutgers Food Policy Institute, which conducted the survey. “Consumers’ confidence in the safety of other produce seems to have been affected.”

The Food Policy Institute in New Brunswick, NJ, conducted the telephone survey over a 3-week period in November. Using a nationwide sample of 1200 people, the institute set out to determine what consumers knew about the recall and foodborne illness, and how that knowledge has affected their current food habits.

Judging by the survey’s results, American consumers were well aware of the spinach recall (87% of those interviewed), and most stopped eating spinach at that time. Hallman noted, however, that there was some confusion about what types of spinach were involved in the recall, where that spinach was grown and whether or not the recall had ended by November. Interestingly, over half of the individuals surveyed have not started eating spinach again.

Surveyed individuals also had a hard time identifying the symptoms of illness resulting from E. coli food poisoning. A large number of people (87%) knew that abdominal cramps were a common symptom, but only 64% were aware that bloody diarrhea is a major symptom of the illness. A large majority of respondents included nausea, vomiting and fever in the symptom picture, though these reactions are not usually associated with the disease.

“Most Americans know little about the symptoms of foodborne illnesses,” said Hallman, “E. coli infections are no exception.”

To read the complete press release about the survey, visit the Rutgers Food Policy Institute on-line at: http://foodpolicyinstitute.org/.

For more information about E. coli food poisoning, visit the pages of this blog and the website www.foodpoisoning.com.

Entry Filed under: Food Poisoning Outbreaks and Recall News