Food Safety for Dummies

Which should be the unofficial name for the FDA.   A customer had some spinach sampled the other day by that agency and was prompted to order a recall because the random test came back positive for e-coli.  The spinach had been on the store shelf for almost 2 weeks and was either at or beyond its best before date when sampled.  Short of irradiation or cooking the spinach, there is almost no way not to have a positive test for some microorganisms two weeks after washing.  Also, by the time the test was conducted and the results were known it was another two weeks later.  Of course by that time 99% of the spinach in that lot was either eaten or thrown out, but the customer was told to order the recall anyway.  It will probably depress sales of his brand for a couple of months.  I'm sure if the FDA conducted the same tests in the meat case of most supermarkets we would all be vegetarians in short order.  My customer went on a harangue about the injustice of it and i had to agree with most of what he said.  However, as a society, we all want to be confident the food we eat is safe.  The reforms Teddy Roosevelt put in place after the muckrakers of the early 20th century exposed the meatpacking industry were necessary, and more regulation is not necessarily a bad thing.  However, common sense is also a necessary part of the regulatory process.