More E. coli cases; more spinach pulled

SAN FRANCISCO — The number of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak traced to tainted spinach rose to 109 on Sunday, as federal officials announced more brands recalling their products.

"This is unquestionably a significant outbreak in terms of E. coli," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Meanwhile, the company linked to the outbreak, Natural Selection Foods, announced that its work with federal and state heath inspectors confirmed that the contamination did not come from its organic spinach.

Manufacturing codes from packages of spinach that infected patients turned over to health officials all were from nonorganic spinach, the company said in a statement late Sunday. Natural Selection packages both organic and conventionally grown spinach in separate areas at its San Juan Bautista, Calif., plant.

The outbreak has prompted Natural Selection, the world's largest producer of organic produce, to recall 34 brands.

On Sunday, River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, Calif., added to its recall spring mixes containing spinach that were sold under the labels Hy-Vee, Fresh N' Easy and Farmers Market, FDA officials said. All contain spinach purchased from Natural Selection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intervened to help investigate the outbreak, which has killed a 77-year-old Wisconsin woman.

In Ohio, state health officials said they were investigating the death of a 23-month-old girl who was sickened by E. coli to determine whether the case was related to the outbreak. The girl's mother said she often buys bagged spinach.

E. coli cases linked to tainted spinach have been reported in 19 states, including Washington, with Wisconsin reporting the most.

The FDA continued to warn consumers not to eat fresh spinach or products containing fresh spinach until further notice. Boiling spinach can kill the bacteria, but washing won't eliminate it.