When food items with ingredients in common that were sold at multiple retailers are recalled because of the same food-borne pathogen, that’s a sign that the source may be that ingredient that they have in common. Three recent recalls from Amy’s, Wegmans, and Costco show that it may be wise for people who are young, old, sick, or pregnant to stay away from organic spinach.

It takes a long time and a lot of work to definitively trace the path of illness-causing bugs through the food system, but it’s possible that these three recalls may be linked.

The first spinach recall comes from Costco stores in the Bay Area of California. They recalled 24-ounce tubs of La Terra Fina Organic spinach dip and spread. Recalled products have “best by” dates of March 24, April 1, April 14, and April 20, 2015. Customers are instructed to throw away any unused dip and contact Costco for a refund. If you have any questions about the recall, call La Terra Fina at 510-999-0050.

Northeastern grocery chain Wegmans has recalled 12-ounce bags of frozen organic spinach with “best used by” dates of January 26, 2017 and February 2, 2017. You can return the product to the service desk at the store where you purchased it, or call their consumer affairs line at 1-855-934-3663. Wegmans identified the supplier as Twin City Foods in Washington state.

Amy’s, a company that markets organic vegetarian or vegan packaged foods, also received word about potentially contaminated spinach from an unnamed supplier. They’ve recalled 73,897 cases of frozen meals, including the following:

• Vegetable lasagna
• Tofu vegetable lasagna
• Garden vegetable lasagna
• Tofu scramble
• Enchilada Verde (meal)
• Spinach pizza
• Brown rice and vegetables bowl
• Stuffed pasta shells bowl
• Vegetable lasagna warehouse club pack
• Gluten-free tofu scramble breakfast wrap
• Gluten-free and dairy-free vegetable lasagna
• Family-size vegetable lasagna

Customers can return the meals to the store where they were purchased for a refund, and can call Amy’s at (707) 781-7535 if they have any questions about the recall.

Listeria usually only causes a short stomach bug in healthy adults: they might experience a headache, vomiting, diarrhea, stiff muscles, and a fever. However, it can be very dangerous to people who are sick, immunocompromised, or pregnant.

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