The Josie’s Organics baby spinach E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has ended with 15 people sick in 10 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One more person, who lives in California, was added to the case count since the last update on December 3, 2021. The outbreak has ended as of January 6, 2021.
The patient case count by state is: California (1), Indiana (4), Iowa (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (2), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), and South Dakota (2). Illness onset dates ranged from October 13, 2021 to November 8, 2021. Patient ages ranged from one to 76 years. Four people were hospitalized, for a hospitalization rate was 27%. And three people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication of an E. coli infection that is a type of kidney failure.
Patients were interviewed by public health officials about what they ate the week before they got sick. Of the 13 interviewed, 11, or 85%, said they ate spinach. That number was significantly higher than the 46% of respondents who said they ate spinach in the FoodNet Population Survey for the same time period.
Moreover, officials in Minnesota found the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 in a package of leftover Josie’s Organics baby spinach that was taken from an ill persons’s home. Traceback investigation for the positive sample went back to a small number of farms in two geographic regions, which were not identified to the public.
Whole genome sequencing of bacteria from 15 people’s samples predicted resistance to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.
The CDC advised the public not to eat, serve, or sell Josie’s Organics baby spinach with a best by date of October 23, 2021. The product is well beyond its expiration date, but some people may have used the spinach in recipes and froze it. Freezing does not kill E. coli bacteria, so if you did this, discard that food.
If you ate this spinach and have been ill with the symptoms of E. coli food poisoning or HUS, see your doctor. You may be part of this Josie’s Organics baby spinach E. coli outbreak. The true number of people in any outbreak is topically much higher than the cases that are actually repotted because may people do not go to a doctor when they get sick.
If you or a loved one have been sickened with an E. coli O157:H7 infection or HUS after eating Josie’s Organics baby spinach, please contact our experienced attorneys for help at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores and food processors.
