I picked a great time to fast. No E. coli for me! September 15, 2006 Baratunde Thurston E. coli appetizers, originally uploaded by benmillett. So there's an outbreak of E. coli in 11 states so far, including New York (where I've been for the past week). The culprit seems to be spinach. Apparently, washing it isn't enought.check cnnhttp://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/15/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html