Food Poisoning - Don't Eat The Spinach E. coli in fresh spinach caused one person to die of kidney failure and has sickened over 100 people in 21 states. Foodborne bacterial pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, and cholera are well known, yet outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes, an emerging bacterial pathogen, occurred in the United States in 1999, in France in 2000, and in the United Kingdom in 2003, caused by eating contaminated hot dogs, pork pate, and luncheon meat, respectively. The lesser known Norwalk virus causes gastroenteritis and is often transmitted by uncooked shellfish and salad ingredients. Still hungry?