Source of 2006 Spinach E. coli Outbreak a Mystery: FDA

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"The recent outbreaks indicate that clearly more needs to be done to further minimize the risk of food-borne illness," Dr. David W.K. Acheson, director of the Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response at the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said during an FDA teleconference at the time. "The vast majority of food-borne illnesses are, in theory, preventable."

Consumers can reduce their risk of illness from fresh-cut produce by refrigerating the product after purchase; using clean hands, utensils or dishes in preparing the product; and throwing out the product when the "use by" date has passed, the FDA said.

More information

For more on food-borne illness, visit the FDA.