No one suggesting people not eat fruits and veggies

With the recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning about the link between the E. coli outbreak and bagged spinach, consumers may start to wonder about the safety of everything in their refrigerator produce drawer. Here are answers to some questions that might arise.

Q: Can I just wash bagged spinach?

A: No. The bacteria are too tightly attached. "If you wash it, it is not going to get rid of it," Robert Brackett, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told The Associated Press. The safest thing is to toss it out.

Q: So, what about unpackaged spinach?

A: The FDA's warning applies only to bagged spinach.

Nationwide, many groceries are pulling all packaged spinach and salad mixes containing spinach from the shelves. Whole Foods Market is temporarily removing all fresh spinach — bagged or otherwise — "just to be on the safe side," said spokeswoman Ashley Hawkins.

At Seattle-area farmers markets, farmers will still sell their locally grown spinach and answer any consumer questions, said Karen Kinney, associate director of the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance.

Q: How are vegetables and fruits contaminated?

A: In other foodborne-illness outbreaks, factors included manure used as fertilizer; exposure to dirty floodwater; poor agricultural water quality; presence of animals in fields or packing areas; and the health and hygiene of workers handling produce during production, packing, distribution or preparation.

Q: Why does it seem like vegetables are more dangerous now than they used to be?

A: Fruit and vegetables are good for you — and no one is suggesting people shouldn't eat them — but they are a potentially higher risk for foodborne pathogens because they're often consumed raw.

In 2005, the FDA said it was aware of 19 outbreaks of foodborne illness since 1995 caused by E. coli linked to lettuce or spinach.

Overall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has seen an increase in the number of reported outbreaks linked to fresh produce. It estimates 12 percent of foodborne illnesses in the 1990s were associated with fresh produce.

This may be partly due to improved surveillance, but people also eat more fruits and vegetables now. More of these are packaged or prepared outside the home, shipped and distributed over large geographic areas. Fresh-cut produce is the fastest-growing sector of the fresh-produce industry.

Q : What has been a problem besides spinach?

A: Past foodborne-illness outbreaks have been linked to apples, cantaloupe, sprouts, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, green onions and imported raspberries.

In addition to E. coli, other microbial pathogens potentially associated with fresh fruits and vegetables include Cyclospora cayetanensis, hepatitis A, Listeria monocytogenes, norovirus, salmonella and shigella, according to the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Q: Are heads of lettuce or bunches of spinach safer than bags of ready-to-eat produce?

A: Perhaps. Processing "increases the risk of bacterial contamination and growth by breaking the natural exterior barrier," the FDA says.

Q: Besides tossing my bagged spinach, what can I do to stay safe?

A: Buy only fresh-cut items kept refrigerated at the store. The FDA recommends consumers refrigerate the product; use clean hands, utensils and dishes to prepare it; and discard when the "use by" date has expired.

With whole fruits or vegetables, rub firm-skin fruits and vegetables under running tap water. Dry with a clean cloth or paper towel. Never use detergent or bleach to wash fresh fruits or vegetables. Remove the outer leaves of leafy greens, such as spinach or lettuce.

Refrigerate all cut, peeled or cooked fresh fruits and vegetables within two hours.

Always keep fruits and vegetables separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood in your cart, grocery bags and refrigerator.

Sources: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Center for Food Safety

and Applied Nutrition; the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Partnership for Food

Safety Education.