Bagged Spinach - Don't Eat It, Don't Bring It Back, Don't Sue Us, Just Throw It Away!

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I guess you can put this one under LTs Thought of the Day.

This is actually a thought that has run across my mind since this story broke.

The thing I am wondering about this is:

Whenever you have bought a product that is faulty, what do you do?

Take it back to where you bought it from and get your money back.

Or depending on the product, exchange.

When it comes back to food, if you bought bad meat, you immediately take it back for a refund or to pick a better package that is fresh. Am I right or wrong? You take it back because you know you spent a lot of money on it. Aside from the fact that it will make you sick.

When it comes to this spinach e-coli outbreak found in millions of packages across America, the "official" word went all across America to just throw it away. No one is saying or has said to take it back to the store of purchase for a refund so it can be thrown away there or sent back to the manufacturer, they are just saying "everybody immediately throw it away."

OK, I get one part of it, it is food and food goes bad, but shouldn't the companies that grow and package the spinach be held responsible in this case once it was detected?

Afterall, this is not the first time this has happened with packaged food, including packaged vegetables.

I haven't heard one lawsuit claim made against any of the companies that produce, grow and package the spinach.

By everyone collectively throwing away their bags of spinach, doesn't it put the companies who grow and pack the Spinach in the clear until the next time it happens?

Where does the accountability lie? The growers, the farmers, the packagers, the distributors, the retail outlets, the USDA?

What do you think?