California farmers are trying to salvage what's left of the season, saying they're relieved that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it's safe to eat spinach again.

Despite the FDA's annoucement, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is continuing to warn consumers not to eat fresh spinach imported from the U.S.

The Canadian agency issued its warning on Sept. 15.

For the last two weeks, consumers have largely steered clear of spinach products because of the E. coli contamination warnings.

On Friday, the FDA announced that most spinach is now "as safe as it was before this event."

Investigators traced the E. coli outbreak, which has killed one person and sickened 187 others, including an Ottawa woman, to Natural Selection Foods. The company supplies spinach to more than a dozen companies.

Officials are examining farming practices to determine how the bacteria came into contact with the food.

"Everybody's just trying to regroup," said Teresa Thorne, a spokeswoman with the industry group Alliance for Food and Farming.

Before the E. coli outbreak, health-conscious Americans had driven up demand for the convenient, bagged spinach. California farmers increased production of the leafy greens from 15,000 acres in 2001 to 31,000 in 2005.

California Farm Bureau officials said when they recently toured California's Salinas Valley, where the contaminated spinach was grown, they found fields of overgrown spinach.

"Farmers are just waiting to see if they'll have orders," said Dave Kranz, a farm bureau spokesman.

Losses are huge

Officials speculate that the E.coli outbreak caused unmatched financial losses.

Researchers with Western Growers, an organization representing farmers in California and Arizona, said the industry can expect losses of up to $74 million US. Last year's California spinach crop was valued at $258.3 million.

Meanwhile, health officials are also investigating two more deaths possibly related to the case.

Officials have confirmed that the E. coli strain O157:H7 was present in the contaminated spinach. The O157:H7 strain, a deadly form of the bacteria, contaminated water in Walkerton, Ont., in 2000, killing seven people.

E. coli stands for Escherichia coli, a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of animals and humans.

With files from the Associated Press