Charlotte, North Carolina-based Fresh Express is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of spinach because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. The problem was discovered after Salmonella was detected in a random sample of the spinach collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “random sample testing program,” according to the company press release. This program is likely USDA’s Microbiological Data Program, or MDP, a produce testing initiative currently responsible for 80 percent of government produce testing, which is scheduled to be shut down at the end of the year after being cut out of the 2013 budget plan. Product subject to this recall is labeled “Fresh Express Spinach.” It is sold in 9 oz packages primarily in the Western part of the United States. States to which the spinach may have been shipped include AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT WA and WY. Packages under recall can be identified by product code S299B25 (located in the upper right hand corner on the front of the package), and a use-by-date of November 7 (also in upper right hand corner of package). Fresh Express is contacting retailers who purchased the product to ensure that it is removed from shelves. Consumers who purchased the affected spinach packages should discard them or return them to their point of purchase for a full refund. The company issued another limited recall, that time of its hearts of romaine product, in mid-October after MDP sampling also found Salmonella in a sample of that product.
