FDA lifts consumer ban on most fresh spinach

? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted its two-week-old consumer warning on most fresh spinach Friday, revising the alert to say it now covers only specific brands packaged on certain dates.

The warning now applies only to spinach recalled earlier this month by Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Bautista and four companies that it supplied, said Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services for the California health department.

A week ago, the FDA had said it was safe to eat spinach grown anywhere outside of three Salinas Valley counties, and some stores began restocking. Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the agency’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said Friday that only spinach that already had been recalled shouldn’t be eaten.

Natural Selection’s recall covered 34 brands it packaged bearing “Best if Used By” dates of Aug. 17 through Oct. 1 – this Sunday.