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March 2011 Moms
PSA, vent, and worried-Recall on Nature's Promise lettuce & spinach-fearing listeria exposure
I've been so careful not to eat anything on my doctor's list regarding listeria contamination (cheese, deli meat, etc. - even sprouts). I've avoided buying the books like What to Expect, b/c I have anxiety and knew I'd be freaked out about one issue or another every day. Now, packaged spinach and lettuce (brand I use-Nature's Promise Organic) has been recalled in New England due to possible listeria contamination. I always wash it-but how good can cold water & a salad spinner be at killing bacteria? Called my dr, had to go in for a blood culture at the hospital this morning-the results of which aren't necessarily diagnostic/definitive anyhow-but which I will have in 2-3 days. Now, I'm going to be worried for the rest of my pregnancy, and the first few weeks of the baby's life.
Has anyone else had a contamination scare?
Am I being paranoid?
Has anyone else been eating packaged spinach and lettuce, or am I the only one?
Am I allowed to be annoyed that my dr's list didn't include spinach/lettuce?
Ok, if you read this, thank you for putting up with my rant.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: PSA, vent, and worried-Recall on Nature's Promise lettuce & spinach-fearing listeria exposure
That sucks! Listeria is pretty scary, so glad to hear you went for the blood test.
That being said, while I don't think you are wrong for being paranoid ( I know I certainly would be), I don't think you should be annoyed with your doctor's list. The list contains the foods that are most likely to cause problems (and even many of them would not be a problem). If you want to get nit-picky, you could put EVERY food on the list for being a potential danger, because in theory everything could be a problem under the right circumstances. I don't know much about the spinach/lettuce recall you mentioned, but I'm guessing the problem lies in the facilities/packaging equipment/water source/etc. NOT the product itself. So, chances are that while that company has recalled their produce, the spinach and lettuce from another place would be totally fine.
I live in New England too, and shop at Stop & Shop... and I heard about the recall. I do sometimes buy the Nature's Promise products, but haven't bought the bagged lettuce or spinach recently.
I can definitely understand why you'd be upset, but try not to panic. You did the right think by contacting the doctor and going to get a blood culture. You're doing all that you can do at this point.
Doctors say to avoid lunchmeats and soft cheeses because those are the most common culprits of listeria, but that doesn't mean that you can't get listeria from other things. Listeria has been found in lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other pre-packaged foods. The only way to completely avoid the risk is to cook everything you eat, and that's just not realistic. So I think because the number of cases of listeria is so small, they just tell you to avoid the things that cause it most commonly.
You're probably fine, and you're doing everything you can to keep yourself and your baby safe. That's all you can do at this point. I will keep my fingers crossed for you and hope everything goes well!
I haven't had any contamination scares while pregnant. I don't think you're paranoid. You know you ate something that could be contaminated. I eat organic packaged spinach and greens several times a month, sometimes we eat a salad a day. We buy a different organic brand though. As far as your list goes, I don't think you should be annoyed. My doctor doesn't do a list of things to avoid. He believes the risks are fairly equal across the board so the only thing I'm supposed to avoid is raw meat/fish. Unfortunately you can't be certain anything is 100% ok. You were doing the right thing eating fresh greens though, and even a step above trying to eat fresh organic greens. Try not to worry too much!
Thank you for your response - I didn't think about the fact that it could be the packaging/water source
My initial thought was that I was the only pregnant person in the world eating prepackage spinach, and that it was something I should have been more careful about, but from your response and others, I guess it is not being widely avoided.