It was water, the FDA says of the epidemic of Romaine E. Coli who killed five: NPR



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An outbreak of E. coli that disgusted people in 36 states and triggered warnings not to eat romaine lettuce this spring was attributed to water in a canal in the Yuma, Arizona area, and the outbreak is now officially over. The officials say.

"The suspect product is no longer harvested or distributed from this region and is no longer available in stores or restaurants, because of its 21-day shelf life," says the Food and Drug Administration. Drug Administration. People died because of the outbreak and 96 were sent to the hospital, says the FDA in its latest update. In total, 210 people were affected by the E epidemic. Coli

The outbreak alarm was released at the end of May, after regulators confirmed that the lettuce harvest season in Yuma was over. The American source of romaine lettuce has moved to the Salinas Valley in California.

The first cases in the epidemic were reported on March 13; A month later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported finding E. coli in lettuce grown in the Yuma area

citing CDC analysis on water samples taken from a channel of the Yuma region. , the FDA says the investigation found E. coli in the water "with the same genetic fingerprint as the strain of the outbreak."

Investigators are now working to learn how E. coli got into the water, and how to water, as he announced the news of the breakthrough in finding the cause of the disease, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb also addressed the notion that American consumers are seeing more outbreaks of food than they have in the past.

"The answer to this question is that we do not believe we are seeing more homes," Gottlieb said. "In fact, we believe that food is safer than ever before and today, we are better at finding outbreaks when they occur."

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