Three people suffer kidney failure after romaine lettuce e. coli contamination
The most recent e. coli outbreak associated with romaine lettuce has caused illnesses in 35 people, including 22 who have been hospitalized and 3 who have suffered kidney failure. The outbreak has affected consumers in 11 states so far.
Most of those who have become ill apparently ate salads that contained the contaminated romaine lettuce in a restaurant. However, it is also becoming evident that consumers who purchased bagged, chopped romaine lettuce in grocery stores may also have been affected.
Specific brand names have yet to be identified. However, Fresh Foods Manufacturing, based in Freedom, Pennsylvania, has recalled 8,757 pounds of ready-to-eat salad products after discovering from their romaine lettuce supplier that the vegetables may have been contaminated with e. coli, including these “Great to Go” products:
- 5 oz., clear plastic containers of ready-to-eat “CAESAR SALAD WITH CHICKEN.”
- 4 oz., clear plastic containers of ready-to-eat “CHICKEN AND BACON” salad.
- 1 oz., clear plastic containers of ready-to-eat “CHEF SALAD WITH HAM, TURKEY, & HARD-BOILED EGG.”
- 1 oz., clear plastic containers of ready-to-eat “CHEF SALAD WITH HAM, TURKEY, & HARD-BOILED EGG.”
These items were shipped to retail locations in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, to not eat it and instead throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has become sick. E. coli contamination can cause abdominal pain, nausea, and fatigue, as well as more serious symptoms that can require hospitalization. To find out more about your options if you have been affected by the romaine lettuce e. coli outbreak, call the food poisoning lawyers at 1-888-335-4901.
