A Monterey County grower recalled more than 68,000 pounds of bagged fresh spinach after salmonella was found in a routine test sample. The sample had been taken from a Watsonville packing plant which was operating under contract with Metz Fresh.

The present recall pertains to a batch of spinach that was packed on August 22 and was distributed across the United States and Canada late last week. As a precautionary measure the company has decided to recall spinach from three processing lines at the plant, since all three lines were handling produce from the same field. It is yet to identify the source of contamination or where in the chain from field to processing plant that contamination might have taken place.

This spinach packed under the ‘Metz Fresh label’ bears the tracking code 12208114, 12208214 or 12208314. The spinach was packed in 10- and 16-ounce bags, as well as 4- and 10-pound cartons. The company is working in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health to notify consumers.

Salmonella is a genus of gram-negative enterobacteria that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and foodborne illness. It can be life-threatening to children, the elderly and adults with compromised immune systems. Though there is no vaccine to prevent salmonellosis, cooking kills the bacteria. Luckily there have been no reports of illness from the usage of this spinach.

Company spokesman Greg Larsen maintained that Metz Fresh had a strong product-testing program in place that relied primarily on independent testing company, Primus Labs, for safety verification.

Larsen said, "They put this testing process in place for a reason. It's about consumer safety and product safety. We will, of course, look very carefully at the process to try to determine where it came from."

Meanwhile, no new bagged spinach from the company has been released since Friday. The company is also urging consumers to abandon any recalled product or to return it to the place of purchase for a refund.