Infected spinach recalled in Australia after people become delirious
It appears spinach not only gives you superhuman strength but it also makes you delirious.
The vegetable made famous by the cartoon character Popeye caused a health alarm in Australia after a number of people who ate it became ill and experienced hallucinations.
Nine people from four Sydney households yesterday required medical attention after experiencing toxic reactions linked to eating Riviera Farms baby spinach from Costco, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
The health authorities reported that those infected become delirious, and recorded spiked heart rates and blurred vision.
Riviera Farms reckons the spinach was contaminated by a weed.
New South Wales Health (NSWH) urged people not to consume any of the brand’s spinach with an expiry date of December 16.
NSWH also urged anyone experiencing any unusual symptoms after eating the spinach to immediately seek hospital care.
Dr Darren Roberts, from the state’s Poisons Information Centre, said…
“No one has died, so we’re very happy with that and we hope it remains that way, but these people are quite sick… to the point of marked hallucinations, where they are seeing things that aren’t there.”
Riviera Farms told the press that it has been in contact with state and federal food regulators after immediately advising customers to withdraw a spinach product from shelves after reports of contamination.
A Riviera Farms spokesperson said…
“Early reports are that our 1-kilogram plastic tubs of spinach with a best-before date of 16/12/2022 may be contaminated with a weed which can have health consequences if consumed.
“As soon as we were advised of the possible weed contamination from one of our customers, we immediately advised them to remove our impacted spinach from their shelves and contacted state health and federal food authorities.”
The company says there is no suggestion any other products have been affected.
“Riviera Farms has been in the business of providing fresh food since the 1880s and we are saddened to confirm that we have likely had our first ever significant contamination incident.”
NSWH added that all of those affected so far are from Sydney but it has alerted authorities in other states as it investigates.
