Safety of Frozen Spinach Confirmed

Bob Garfield, senior vice president of regulatory and international affairs, The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), issued a memo to member companies in response to consumer inquires about the safety of frozen spinach in the wake of fresh spinach's E. coli contamination alert. The memo notes that, because frozen spinach is blanched, and assuming it is properly cooked by the consumer, it should pose no threat since E. coli 0157:H7 is heat-sensitive.

The memo quotes Irving J. Pflug and Grahame Gould, saying in The Microbiological Safety and Quality of Food, that pathogenic strains of E. coli are eliminated "when in the cooking process, the slowest heating zone of the product is at or above 180°F (82.2°C), as is the case for most vegetable products, vegetative microorganisms and viral and fungal pathogens will be killed. The end-of-cooking temperature for most vegetables is about 180°F." Spinach, kale and other greens are typically blanched at 212°F (100°C) for 1 1/2 minutes.

The AFFI memo also notes that blanching temperatures "are carefully monitored in frozen spinach processing plants and are generally a Critical Control Point in their HACCP programs." Fresh spinach is not cooked anywhere in the process and, opposed to frozen spinach (a product with instructions that call for it to be thoroughly cooked before serving), is a ready-to-eat product.

FDA updates on the E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach can be found at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/spinach.html.