Romaine Lettuce Recalled Due to E. coli Concerns



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Tanimura & Antle Inc. has voluntarily recalled single-headed romaine lettuce that had been shipped to nearly two dozen states over concerns that the leafy greens could be contaminated with E. coli.

The advisory, which was posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website, comes almost exactly one year after an outbreak of E. Coli before Thanksgiving linked to California lettuce sickened hundreds of consumers and led to a general warning regarding romaine lettuce.

ROMAN SALAD RECALL WIDENED DURING THE EPIDEMIC OF E. COLI

Tanimura & Antle’s latest product warning was based on a test result of a random sample that was collected and analyzed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, according to the FDA announcement.

The recall only applies to single headed lettuce under the Tanimura & Antle brand label with a packaging date of 10/15/2020 or 10/16/2020 with UPC number 0-27918-20314 -9.

However, 3,396 cartons of potentially affected products have been distributed nationwide in states such as Alaska, Oregon, California, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Nebraska, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, New Mexico, South Carolina, Washington, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and Illinois.

FDA BEGINS TESTING ROMAN LEAVE ON THE HEELS OF EPIDEMICS SCHOOL

E. coli, which had been blamed for several outbreaks of romaine lettuce poisoning in recent years, causes diarrheal illness often accompanied by bloody stools, according to the FDA.

Most healthy adults can make a full recovery within a week, however, young children and the elderly may be at risk for developing a form of kidney disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can lead to severe kidney damage or even death, the agency said.

“This product is unlikely to remain in retail establishments due to the shelf life of lettuce and the number of days that have passed,” the company said, adding that if found, the product should be thrown away.

ROMAN LETTUCE FOOD POISONING EPIDEMIC ‘SEEMS TO BE OVER’

Retailers and distributors can identify potentially affected products with the Product Traceability Initiative (PTI) sticker. The PTI codes are 571280289SRS1 and 571280290SRS1.

To date, no other product or packaging date is recalled and the company has not received any reports of illness associated with the recalled product.

U.S. health officials called for the 2019 outbreak to end in January after 167 people in 27 states fell ill, the CDC said. No one died, but 85 people were hospitalized, including 15 people who developed some type of kidney failure.

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Multiple epidemics linked to the bacteria have broken out in the past. One of them, which occurred in the spring of 2018, sickened more than 200 people and killed five others. This outbreak has been attributed to contaminated irrigation water near a batch of cattle. E. coli is found in the feces of animals such as cows.

It’s unclear exactly why romaine continues to show up in outbreaks, but food safety experts note the popularity of romaine lettuce and the difficulty in eliminating the risk for produce grown in the field and eaten raw.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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