San Francisco Chronicle, "FDA Says Spinach Tampering Not Suspected"

          Tampering is not suspected in an outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach, federal health officials said Monday as they probed for a source of the contamination and warned consumers not to resume eating uncooked spinach products.
          The FDA has linked a California company's fresh spinach to the outbreak, which has killed one person and sickened at least 108 others. Investigators are working to pinpoint the source of the bacteria. Possible sources include contaminated irrigation water, known to be a problem in the state's Salinas Valley, a major produce-growing area. "At this time we have no evidence supporting tampering," FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro said. The FBI is monitoring the situation, said FBI spokesman Rich Kolko. Kolko added it was a routine and precautionary measure, and is not indicative of any suspicious activity.
          Bro also dismissed a claim by Natural Selection Foods LLC, the country's largest grower of organic produce, that its organic spinach products had been cleared of suspicion. "The FDA has not cleared any products from the list and continues to recommend consumers avoid eating fresh spinach products," Bro said.

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