It Is What It Is.

  A California produce company has recalled over eight thousand cases of spinach, the vegetable, because a sample tested positive for the salmonella virus. Spinach, a flowering and usually harmless plant, is considered healthy by most doctors because of its high vitamin A content. The high iron content of the plant is a myth. A misplaced decimal in the 1870’s was to blame. (Sorry, Popeye.)

Last year, spinach, the vegetable, became tainted with E coli. The contamination was caused by cattle waste in irrigation water. That outbreak killed three people and sickened hundreds, but eating spinach, the vegetable, already given a bad rap in the media by former presidents and fussy children, shouldn’t be considered analogous to playing Russian roulette.

This current salmonella outbreak has caused no deaths or illness. It has been more of an inbreak so far. Only a tiny sample of the entire crop has been polluted. Chances are, the produce company caught it, recalled it and warned the public before it can do any real damage. Buyers should, however, beware.

Click here to find a physician with which to talk about spinach consumption and all its possible pitfalls.