Multi-state e. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce
Investigators have identified salads consumed in restaurants as the probable source of a multi-state e. coli outbreak that has sickened 35 people to date. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted extensive interviews to determine why people in 11 states across the country had become ill and found that most of the people interviewed reported having eaten a salad at a restaurant.
Romaine lettuce was the only common ingredient identified among the salads eaten. The restaurants reported using bagged, chopped romaine lettuce to make salads. Chopped romaine lettuce that appears to be the common factor in the contamination was sourced from the winter growing areas in Yuma, Arizona. This region generally supplies romaine to the U.S. during November-March each year. However, the specific grower, supplier, distributor, or brand has not yet been identified.
Illnesses were reported from March 22 to March 31 in Connecticut (2), Idaho (8), Illinois (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (7), New York (2), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (9), Virginia (1), and Washington (1).
Retailers, restaurants, and other food service operators are advised to not sell or serve any chopped romaine lettuce from the winter growing areas in Yuma, Arizona. If the source of your chopped romaine lettuce cannot be determined, it should not be sold or served.
Likewise, consumers should ask retailers where their romaine lettuce was sourced from and not eat or buy chopped romaine lettuce from Yuma, Arizona. Consumers who have already bought products containing chopped romaine lettuce, such as bagged salads, salad mixes or prepared salads, should throw them away and not eat them.
The current outbreak is not related to a recent multistate outbreak of e. coli from November to December 2017 linked to leafy greens consumption.
If you have been impacted by the multi-state e. coli outbreak, contact the food poisoning lawyers at 1-888-335-4901 to learn more about your options.
