Spinach | whatsinit

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a nutrient-dense leafy green vegetable used globally as a whole food ingredient, valued for its high content of vitamins A, C, and K, folate, iron, and antioxidants. It is consumed raw, cooked, frozen, or as a processed ingredient in soups, baby foods, and ready-to-eat products.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Spinach is broadly safe and is not banned or restricted in any major jurisdiction. Its naturally high oxalic acid content binds to minerals such as calcium and iron, reducing their bioavailability, and can elevate urinary oxalate excretion, increasing the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones with high or frequent consumption. Individuals with kidney disease, a history of nephrolithiasis, or infants face heightened risk from excessive spinach intake.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Spinach is freely marketed as a whole food vegetable across EU member states; no specific EFSA restriction or maximum intake applies to spinach as a food ingredient. EU contaminant regulations apply to nitrate levels in fresh and processed spinach (EC No 1881/2006 as amended).
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Spinach is explicitly listed as a recognized food category for thermally processed vegetables under FSSAI Appendix A of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011; softening agents such as sodium bicarbonate are permitted at ≤150 ppm in processed spinach.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Spinach is a whole food vegetable recognized as safe for general consumption under FDA oversight; no specific maximum daily intake is established for whole-food vegetables. FDA regulates food additives added to spinach products separately.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Kidney Disease — Spinach contributes over 40% of total dietary oxalate intake, and ingestion of ~100 g transiently raises urinary oxalate to levels seen in primary hyperoxalurias, posing significant risk for nephrolithiasis and CKD progression.

Infants — A high level of oxalate intake specifically constitutes a health risk for infants, who have a limited metabolic capacity to process and excrete oxalate safely.

Ibd — Disrupted intestinal oxalate handling in IBD patients can increase gut absorption of dietary oxalate from high-oxalate foods like spinach, elevating the risk of secondary hyperoxaluria and kidney stones.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1PubMed. Oxalate in Foods: Extraction Conditions, Analytical Methods, Occurrence, and Health Implications, 2023. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2PubMed. High and low oxalate content in spinach: an investigation of accumulation patterns, 2022. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3PubMed. Dietary Oxalate Intake and Kidney Outcomes, 2020. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4PubMed. Oxalate intake and the risk for nephrolithiasis, 2007. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5PubMed. Biodegradation of oxalic acid from spinach using cereal radicles, 2005. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6PubMed. Bioavailability of oxalate in foods, 1981. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Independently researched6 citations