Leafty told the Deseret Morning News that her son is recovering after a week of continual vomiting. She said her son had to be taken back to Primary Children's several times for intravenous re-hydration. "He has just lost so much weight," she said.

But as of Saturday, her son regained his appetite and returned to school Monday morning, she said.

Leafty said the whole ordeal was quite a scare for her family. A leftover bag of spinach was turned over to the county health department last Friday, she said.

"As the grower and producer, Natural Selection Foods should have been consumers' first line of defense against E. coli entering the food supply," said attorney Bill Marler. "Instead, this company allowed contaminated produce to enter the marketplace and caused one of the largest fresh-produce-related outbreaks in recent history."

Natural Selection Foods defended its safety history. "Quality and food safety have been the centerpiece of our business, and we pride ourselves on the high standards we have set and the great care we take in handling of all the product that comes through our facilities," said Charles Sweat, chief operating officer of Natural Selection Foods, in a written statement. "With over 20 years of experience packing fresh produce, we have built a track record that is unmatched by others in the industry."

Natural Selection Foods has yet to respond to the lawsuits filed against it after the spinach recall.

Marler is also representing the parents of two Wisconsin children who were also believed to have been sickened by contaminated spinach. According to the Wisconsin lawsuit, both children came down with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially deadly condition associated with E. coli infections. As of last Sunday, the daughter remained hospitalized.

An Oregon woman has also sued. According to her lawsuit, she ate spinach for lunch several times during the week of Aug. 21. She reports she was hospitalized at Salem Hospital for six days and required at least four blood transfusions and other medical procedures.

In all of the federal lawsuits, the plaintiffs have asked for unspecified damages, including compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, medical expenses, travel expenses, emotional distress and attorney fees.

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Contributing: New York Times News Service

E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com