The spinach business came to a slamming halt when the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers against eating all fresh spinach due to E. coli.

It was reported in the Monterey County Herald that some producers with spinach from outside of San Benito, Santa Clara and Monterey counties — still implicated in the FDA investigation — are in the process of putting stickers on their bags or otherwise looking for ways to let consumers know where the spinach is grown — or not grown.

"The whole point is to tell you it’s not from California," said Bruce Taylor, CEO and chairman of Salinas-based Taylor Farms, who said the labeling process would only darken the local industry’s black eye in the marketplace.

Putting stickers on spinach is not a solution that will benefit companies which have been implicated by investigators.  Nor is it a solution to get spinach back in the market and start rebuilding consumer confidence.