The removal of imported fresh spinach from local grocery stores due to an E-coli outbreak in the United State has prompted the Super Value/Portion Control food store chain to secure locally grown spinach for consumers at one of its stores.
Clifton Fernander, perishables buyer for the Super Value/Portion Control food store chain, said when U.S. officials issued an alert to consumers recently about an outbreak of E-coli in fresh spinach, Super Value in Cable Beach began selling locally grown spinach from Lucayan Tropical Produce.
According to Mr. Fernander, supplies of local spinach are limited.
“You do have some housewives out there [who] do require it (spinach), especially in their gourmet dishes, but since then, we are able to attain some local spinach here,” he said.
A local bag of fresh spinach is being sold for $1.99 in comparison to the imported spinach that was sold for $3.99, he said.
However, Mr. Fernander said with the imported spinach, customers got more spinach in the bag than what they are getting locally.
He added that Super Value lost about $500 in revenue since removing the spinach from the store shelves.
Briton Bodie, produce manager for Super Value Cable Beach, said the spinach was very popular before the E-coli outbreak in the United States.
Mr. Bodie said spinach sold regularly, including at the storeﾒs salad bar.
“We [sold] tons of spinach on a daily basis,” he said.
Since the local spinach has been on the shelves, it has also been a popular item, he said.
“Once we have a sign up saying there is locally grown spinach here, they start to buy it in the packaged form. Itﾒs an open package form so they can see that itﾒs not from the StatesﾅThe response has been positive to locally grown spinach so far.”
Super Value has 10 locations in New Providence only.
According to a City Market official, removal of the spinach will result in an estimated loss to the company of $2,000 to $3,000. City Markets has 12 locations in The Bahamas, nine in New Providence and three in Grand Bahama.
“Anytime there is an out break like this it is important for us to protect the consumers,” said Michael Clayton, the City Market official.
Some local spinach lovers are applauding local stores for removing fresh spinach from the grocery stores due to the U.S. warning.
“I sure hope that they find out what caused the outbreak, and then of course deal with it so that we can get back to getting spinach on the shelves on all of the local stores here,” said Deitra Delancy, who said she eats a lot of spinach.
Felicity Walker, who spoke with The Bahama Journal outside City Market in Cable Beach on Tuesday, said her parents made her eat a lot of the green leafy vegetable.
Now, she said she grows her own spinach and never bought spinach from stores, so she said she was not concerned when she heard about the E-coli outbreak in the U.S.
“It didnﾒt even bother me, but for others I feel bad for them, those who normally buy them,” she said.
At Cable Beach Super Value salad deli, Dionne Armbrister, said she normally eats spinach anytime she has a salad. She said she was grateful that the spinach has been removed.
“I think it was a good decision for them to take it off the shelves [because] peopleﾒs health is important, and I guess if they ignore it they can probably get in problems from persons getting sick from bad spinach,” Ms. Armbrister said. “So, I think it was wise.”
According to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration, while fresh spinach must be removed from stores or homes because of the E-coli outbreak, canned spinach is not considered a threat.
According to US reports, an outbreak of E-coli in 21 states had left at least one person dead and at least 113 others sick.
The death occurred in Wisconsin where 20 others were also sickened, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administrationﾒs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
The Associated Press said on Tuesday that though state and federal officials have traced the current outbreak to a California companyﾒs fresh spinach, they havenﾒt pinpointed the source of the bacteria.
E-coli causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools, according to health officials, who say most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, although some people ﾖ including the very young and old ﾖ can develop a form of kidney failure that often leads to death.
According to whfood.org, leafy green vegetables like spinach with its delicate texture and jade green colour provide more nutrients than any other food.
By: Perry Scavella, The Bahama Journal
