Spinach versus Hurricanes

One would think that spinach doesn't stand against a hurricane. Spinach contaminated with E. Coli gives no warning, cannot be tracked with the aid of satellites, and can show up in a myriad of places. Hurricanes, on the other hand, give plenty of warning, can be tracked, and we know where they come from.

When a few people die and a few hundred are sickened by food contaminated with E. Coli, the food in question is pulled from the shelves nationwide. People throw out whatever they have on hand. Let's assume that 10 million people in the U.S. eat spinach. Let's say this tops out at 1000 sick and 4 dead; that's 0.0001 and 0.0000004 probability, respectively. That being said, I wouldn't take my chances and I'd toss the stuff out, too. Hopefully, no more people will die from this.

It would seem to me that my chances of being in peril are far greater when a hurricane comes my way than when I pick up an item at the grocery store. Perhaps this is a testament to our post-The Jungle system of inspecting food, food storage, and other areas of food sanitation.

Look at the difference in reaction to spinach and Hurricane Katrina. Spinach was purged from everywhere with an efficiency seldom matched elsewhere. When people were warned of a dangerous hurricane, many chose to stay behind and then blamed the government for inaction. When people are warned about an E. Coli outbreak, they act and act quickly. So does our government. We are so used to strict system of food inspection and sanitation that when a little blip like this occurs, it's immediately acted upon. We give no thought to any dangers in the food we eat yet there are real, albeit statistically low, dangers. We'll continue to brave hurricanes but if we have a 10^-6 chance of being sickened by contaminated spinach; into the trash it goes.