[ad_1]
US authorities warned consumers Tuesday not to consume romaine lettuce as part of an investigation into a new multi-state outbreak of E. Coli, the second episode of this year related to green salad.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration also advise restaurants and retailers not to use or sell lettuce until more is known.
So far, the outbreak has made 32 people sick in 11 US states; According to the CDC, 13 people were hospitalized in the epidemic and one developed a form of renal failure.
The alerts arrive a few days before millions of Americans gather for Thanksgiving Day meals. They follow a deadly outbreak of early-stage E. coli related to romaine lettuce that shook the food industry, resulting in multi-million dollar losses for producers, retailers and farmers. restaurants. Five people died in this epidemic and 210 became ill.
Canadian officials are also investigating an outbreak of E. coli. Coli involving romaine lettuce. The authorities advise people in Ontario and Quebec, where diseases are concentrated – and where more than 60% of the Canadian population lives – to avoid eating lettuce.
The CDC alert Tuesday said: "Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce at home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some has been consumed and no one was not sick. "
The agency said its advice applies to all types of romaine lettuce, including whole heads, hearts, bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes containing romaine.
The FDA said it was working to determine the source of the contamination. The strain of E. coli in the new outbreak was different from the one that caused the fatal outbreak last spring, although it seems similar to the one that caused a smaller outbreak related to leafy vegetables in the United States. and in Canada in the fall of 2017
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said there was too little to request a recall to specific suppliers.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said that as of Tuesday, 18 confirmed cases of E. coli disease had been confirmed. People became ill between mid-October and early November 2018. "According to the findings of the investigation, romaine lettuce was identified as a source of the outbreak, but the because of the contamination has not been identified, "said the agency.
US authorities coordinate their actions with Canadian authorities.
Last spring's US outbreak was linked to romaine lettuce from the Yuma region of Arizona, which supplies most lettuce to the United States during the winter months. Federal investigators have not been able to determine exactly how the desert romaine lettuce had been contaminated, although the FDA has stated that water coming from a water channel is no longer a problem. irrigation was the main culprit.
The FDA had announced earlier this month that it would strengthen the monitoring of green salad. The agency plans to collect and analyze samples of romaine lettuce in search of contamination by pathogens as part of a "new special surveillance sampling mission" in order to whether products can be safely consumed, according to a previous statement by Mr. Gottlieb.
On Tuesday, the FDA said it was working closely with the green leafy vegetable sector and other stakeholders to put in place safety practices to reduce the risks of such outbreaks.
Paul Vieira contributed to this article.
Write to Jesse Newman at [email protected]
Source link
