The Josie’s Organics baby spinach E. coli outbreak has sickened at last 14 people in nine states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three people have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure. Four people have been hospitalized. Two more states have been added to the case count total: Pennsylvania and Nebraska.
The patient case count by state is: Indiana (4), Iowa (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (2), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), and South Dakota (2). The patient age range is from age two to 76. Of the 12 people who have given information to investigators, four have been hospitalized, and three have developed HUS. Illness onset dates ranged from October 13, 2021 to October 27, 2021.
And of those 12 people interviewed, 10, or 83%, said they ate spinach the week before they got sick. This percentage was significantly higher than the percentage of healthy people who responded to the survey, which suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from that leafy green. Six people said they ate Josie’s Organics baby spinach.
In November 2021, officials in Minnesota found E. coli O157:H7 in a package of leftover Josie’s Organics baby spinach that was taken from a sick person’s home. Whole genome sequencing found that the bacteria in that spinach is closely related to bacteria isolated from the patients. That means that the person likely got sick from eating that spinach.
The CDC and FDA are advising people not to eat, sell, or serve Josie’s Organics prepackaged baby spinach with the “best by” date of October 23, 2021. This spinach is well past its best by date, but some may be frozen in consumers’ home freezers in casseroles or other dishes. Discard those items as well, since freezing does not kill this pathogen.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection usually begin a few days, up to a week, after eating food contaminated with the pathogen. Symptoms include a mild fever, possible nausea and vomiting, and severe and painful abdominal cramps, along with diarrhea that may be bloody. Symptoms of HUS, which is a complication of this infection that is a type of kidney failure, include little or no urine output, easy bruising, lethargy, pale skin, and bleeding from the nose or mouth.
If you have eaten this product and have been sick with those symptoms, see your doctor. This outbreak is likely larger than the number of cases officially reported. You may be part of this Josie’s Organics baby spinach E. coli outbreak.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with an E. coli infection or HUS after eating Josie’s Organics baby spinach, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202. Our lawyers have filed many lawsuits against food processors and grocery store chains on behalf of clients.
