Cook It Up

Spinach is back, baby. The CDC has the following guidelines, though:

• Do not eat spinach products processed by Natural Selection Foods (see below for link to full list of brand names).
• If you can't tell whether a particular brand of fresh spinach was implicated in the outbreak and the package has a "use by date" of Oct. 1, 2006 or earlier, don't eat it.
• E. Coli 0157:H5 in spinach can be killed by cooking at 160 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. If spinach is cooked in a frying pan, and all parts do not reach 160 degrees F, all bacteria may not be killed.
• Don't allow raw spinach to contaminate other foods or food-contact surfaces.
• Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling the spinach.
• Store fresh produce in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 40 degrees F or below. All produce that is purchased pre-cut or peeled should be refrigerated to maintain both quality and safety.

This is actually important to me. Spinach is good stuff.

http://www.cdc.gov/foodborne/ecolispinach/