Urgent warning over ‘toxic’ baby spinach in Australia that causes hallucinations

Nine people from four unrelated households across Sydney needed medical treatment after developing poisoning

Authorities in Australia have issued an urgent health warning against baby spinach products bought from Costco after several cases of “possible food-related toxic reactions”.

Nine people from four unrelated households across Sydney have been reported to require medical treatment after developing poisoning from eating Riviera Farms-branded baby spinach, said New South Wales (NWS) Health in a statement on Thursday.

The health agency said the product should not be eaten as it is “not safe to consume and people who have it should throw it out”.

“Initial investigations suggest the presence of an accidental contaminant in the food product,” it said.

“NSW Health is working with the NSW Food Authority, as well as other jurisdictions, to investigate the issue further.”

The healthy authority has asked residents who experience any unusual and severe symptoms to seek immediate medical attention.

Symptoms that can become severe include delirium or confusion, hallucinations, dilated pupils, rapid heartbeat, flushed face, blurred vision, dry mouth and skin and fever.

“No one has died, so we’re very happy with that and we hope it remains that way, but these people are quite sick... to the point of marked hallucinations, where they are seeing things that aren’t there,” Dr Darren Roberts from the NSW Poisons Information Centre was quoted as saying to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

He added that those affected had been “quite sick”.

Authorities said affected products were sold through Costco with an expiry date of 16 December 2022.

Rivera Farms said the products were “contaminated with a weed”. It said it was issuing a recall of all baby spinach products with a best before date up to and including 28 December 2022.

“This is a precautionary measure and is an update on earlier advice where we stated that products with a best before date of 16 December 2022 were impacted,” it added.

Action has been taken immediately, including asking shops to remove the products from stores, according to the company.

“There is no suggestion, and to our knowledge no possibility, that any other products have been impacted by this weed,” a Rivera Farms spokesperson was quoted as saying to BBC.