Romaine lettuce no longer produced but illness reports continue
A specific source of contamination has yet to be identified in the case of romaine lettuce e. coli contamination that began in March 2017, even though one area of the country has been pinpointed as responsible for the lettuce production. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now stating that romaine lettuce is no longer being produced in or distributed from that growing region, located in the Yuma, Arizona, area.
The FDA has also stated that romaine lettuce has a typical shelf life of 21 days and since the last date of harvest was April 16, 2018, there should be no contaminated lettuce remaining in restaurants or stores. The Yuma, Arizona, region generally supplies romaine lettuce to locations throughout the US from November to March each year.
Only one specific source of e. coli contamination in romaine lettuce has been identified to date. The FDA has identified Harrison Farms of Yuma, Arizona, as the grower and sole source of the whole-head romaine lettuce that sickened several people in an Alaskan correctional facility, but has not determined where in the supply chain the contamination occurred. Harrison Farms is not responsible for any of the romaine lettuce that has sickened 172 people in 32 states so far.
The FDA is continuing to investigate illnesses related to romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region. The ongoing traceback investigation indicates that the illnesses associated with this outbreak cannot be explained by a single grower, harvester, processor, or distributor. While traceback continues, FDA will focus on trying to identify factors that contributed to contamination of romaine across multiple supply chains. The agency is examining all possibilities, including that contamination may have occurred at any point along the growing, harvesting, packaging, and distribution chain before reaching consumers.
If you are a victim of the e. coli outbreak related to romaine lettuce, please contact the food poisoning lawyers at 1-888-335-4901 to discuss your legal options. For more information about a Romaine lettuce ecoli lawsuit, call 1-888-335-4901.
