It might be the person who invented bagged salad, or another marketing innovation that changed Americans' relationship to food.

Asked if consumers should also avoid bagged salads, Dr. Acheson answered somewhat tentatively, saying, "At this point, there is nothing to implicate bagged salad."

But print journalism isn't dead quite yet: morning papers did beat out prewashed bagged salads, which limped in at 17 percent.

She also bought bagged salad, salad dressing, and, on impulse, flowers for her table.

I guess the surprise is that it's taken this long for the produce industry to get this wake-up call that we need to do something to reinvent bagged salad.

At the same time, supermarkets were offering more items like bagged salad and rotisserie chicken that made it easier to assemble dinner quickly.

"We don't eat bagged salads because I don't think they are safe under present conditions," Dr. Doyle said.

Dr. Tauxe still buys bagged salads, "because they are so convenient."

Would have required store owners to post a sign warning consumers of the dangers of not washing bagged salads and other produce.

On bagged salad, it's believed that E. coli can grow more rapidly in greens that are old and decomposing, so checking the dates is imperative.