The World Beyond BetterMost > Anything Goes
US/Canadian Health Advisory: Do Not Use "Spring Mix" Salad Products
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on September 19, 2006, 12:21:48 pm ---
But in the case of the spinach, people actually are getting sick, and the sickness can cause permanent organ damage or even death.
--- End quote ---
Exactly. And children and older people the immune deficient are the most strongly affected and likely people who are trying to look after their health by eating well.
Spinach can still be eaten - buy it frozen or canned and/or cook it. If you're making a salad...well, stick with iceberg for a while. Better safe than sorry.
Giancarlo:
--- Quote from: opinionista on September 19, 2006, 01:38:52 pm ---Well, Giancarlo here got a point. I know this e-coli outbreak is probably a serious one, but come on it is not like you can't survive without Spinach. My meaning is that sometimes this kind of warning are over sensationalized by the press. Ok, eating spinach is truly dangerous now, and I bet most kids are probably jumping with joy. However, from what I have seen the FDA is simply making a warning to avoid more cases. This is not a life or death situation, as the press is making it look like. So far there have been 114 victims distributed in 21 states and only one has died, according to CDC. This hardly makes it a major a health disaster. More people die in car accidents each day. CNN is now talking about the spinach e-coli mystery when it's well known that e-coli outbreaks are associated with improper handling at the plant, in transport or at the retailer. It's also associated with the use of certain fertilizers. This sort of reminds me of The Chicken Little tale. "The sky is falling!, the sky is falling!"
--- End quote ---
No kidding.. and besides cooked spinach is so much better then it being uncooked.... I'm really tired of some people in this country. I don't see a big deal like this one about car accidents. Besides car accidents kill 40,000+ a year in this country. I only see some fifteen second segment about rollovers, and then we have some spinach ecoli deal...
serious crayons:
The explanation for that would be that car accidents have been happening in great numbers as long as there have been cars. So while it's bad that so many people get hurt or killed in them, it's not big news (though sometimes, of course, specific accidents are news).
People are not used to spinach being dangerous, so it is news.
It's the difference between a headline that says "Eating spinach can hurt people" and one that says "Car accidents can hurt people." The latter looks silly, because we already know that.
opinionista:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on September 20, 2006, 08:31:12 am ---The explanation for that would be that car accidents have been happening in great numbers as long as there have been cars. So while it's bad that so many people get hurt or killed in them, it's not big news (though sometimes, of course, specific accidents are news).
People are not used to spinach being dangerous, so it is news.
It's the difference between a headline that says "Eating spinach can hurt people" and one that says "Car accidents can hurt people." The latter looks silly, because we already know that.
--- End quote ---
Sensationalisim and over alarming news in the press is something that has been widely studied across a variety of disciplines. This isn't something I'm making up for the sake of arguing. It is not the information the problem, but the way the information is conveyed. I think it important for the press to warn the public about the risk of consumming fresh spinach at this moment or any other health risk. But they don't have to make it look like a life or death situation. There are other option for fresh spinach consumers, like frozen or canned spinach, for example.
You are right about the car accidents. We all know they're dangerous and obvioulsy for the press is not something newsworthy. But that doesn't make them less risky. This sounds silly for you because you are a journalist, and journalist are trained to think in terms of novelty and events, because that is what sells the news. If the press did an extensive coverage about car accidents these days, with big pictures of people bleeding, dead bodies, dismembered and scattered everywhere and a big headlines saying: If you drive a car this is what will happen to you! I'm sure a lot of people would stop riding in cars, and less will die on the streets. It's very hard for me to explain my point but if you interested here are few articles written by an experts in risk communication in the press. I hope I didn't sound too opinionated or arrogant. I apologize if I did.
http://www.psandman.com/articles/toronto.htm
http://www.psandman.com/articles/seattle.htm
This one is actually about environmental risk
http://www.fplc.edu/RISK/vol5/summer/sandman.htm
Also, there is an explanation as to why the press does what it does. It's partly explained in this article:
http://dels.nas.edu/dr/docs/Quarantelli.pdf
Giancarlo:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on September 20, 2006, 08:31:12 am ---The explanation for that would be that car accidents have been happening in great numbers as long as there have been cars. So while it's bad that so many people get hurt or killed in them, it's not big news (though sometimes, of course, specific accidents are news).
People are not used to spinach being dangerous, so it is news.
It's the difference between a headline that says "Eating spinach can hurt people" and one that says "Car accidents can hurt people." The latter looks silly, because we already know that.
--- End quote ---
Actually what it is.. is typical media sensationalism and over-reaction. Perhaps something more relevant, there are many cases of food poisoning in this country, and often they can send one to the hospital. The media is over-reacting and so is this country. If we let the FDA just do its job and learn that steamed spinach is perhaps the best way to eat it... things would be better off.
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