California ? Consumer advocates say that a Salinas Valley company’s recall of spinach because of a salmonella scare shows that the federal government must do more to protect the nation’s food supply, but industry officials call it proof that their voluntary regulations are working.

Metz Fresh, a King City-based grower and shipper, recalled 8,000 cartons of fresh spinach Wednesday after salmonella was found during a routine test of spinach it was processing for shipment. More than 90 percent of the possibly contaminated cartons never reached stores, company spokesman Greg Larson said.

California’s leafy greens industry adopted the voluntary regulations last year after a fatal E. coli outbreak, but advocates said a national, mandatory inspection and testing program overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is needed.

Some growers said Metz Fresh’s ability to catch the bacteria showed that the new testing regimes are working. No illnesses have been reported from eating spinach linked to the company.