Romaine Lettuce and Products containing Romaine Lettuce

[Mere]

Illness fears spur romaine lettuce recall
May 6th, 2010
09:55 PM ET

Freshway Foods announced Thursday it is voluntarily recalling products containing romaine lettuce with a use-by date of May 12 or earlier because they may be contaminated with potentially deadly bacteria linked to an outbreak of illness.

The recalled products may be the cause of an outbreak of foodborne disease linked to E. coli 0145 in Michigan, Ohio and New York, the Food and Drug Administration said on its website.

So far, 19 confirmed cases of the illness have been reported in the three states, the FDA said. They include 12 people who have been hospitalized, three with the potentially life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.

In HUS, the body's blood-clotting mechanisms are altered, causing blocked circulation or bleeding in the brain or kidneys.

E. coli O145 can cause abdominal cramps and diarrhea, which may be bloody. Though most healthy adults recover within a week, young children and the elderly are most at risk of developing HUS.

Federal health authorities are encouraging anyone with such symptoms to contact a health care provider immediately.

The recall came a day after the New York state Public Health Laboratory in Albany reported finding E. coli O145 in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods shredded romaine lettuce, the FDA said.

Ohio-based Freshway Foods said in a news release that the recalled shredded romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, and some in-store salad bars and delis in: Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Consumers are urged not to eat "grab and go" salads sold from in-store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh stores.
Romaine lettuce and other types of lettuce and leafy greens from other producers are not affected by the recall.

"Multiple lines of evidence have implicated shredded romaine lettuce from one processing facility as a source of infections in a multi-state outbreak to which this recall may be related," the FDA said.

Preliminary results of traceback investigations indicate that the shredded romaine lettuce eaten by the people who got sick came from one processing facility, it said.

Freshway said a federal investigation of its plant in Sidney, Ohio, uncovered no contamination there.

Freshway Foods is cooperating with the investigation, the FDA said

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/06/illness-fears-spur-romaine-lettuce-recall/?hpt=T3

[Mere]

Lettuce Recalled in 23 States After E. Coli OutbreakUpdated: 48 minutes ago


AOL News (May 7) -- Romaine lettuce being sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia is being recalled after at least 20 people have fallen ill with dangerous E. coli bacteria -- including three life-threatening cases.

People have been hospitalized in Michigan, Ohio and New York after eating shredded romaine lettuce sold by Ohio-based Freshway Foods. It announced a recall Thursday of lettuce with a use-by date of May 12 or earlier, sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands.

It also applies to lettuce sold to food service companies, wholesalers and in-store salad bars and delis, including "grab-and-go" salads at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets and Marsh grocery stores. No other products are affected, it said.

Freshway is advising customers who believe they have the contaminated product to "cease use and distribution of it immediately."

At least 20 cases of E. coli sickness have been confirmed by lab results, and there are nine other probable cases, The Columbus Dispatch reported. Among the victims are college students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y.

Federal investigators are looking for the source of the contamination. A spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Ira Allen, told the Dispatch on Thursday that investigations into previous E. coli outbreaks involving leafy greens "lead us to believe that the point of contamination is at the farm." But officials haven't named any specific farms.

Devon Beer, vice president of Freshway Foods, told the Dispatch that he believes investigators are focusing in on a growing region in Yuma, Ariz.

"It's gut-wrenching. We've been in business for 22 years, and we've never had a recall," he said.

Authorities in upstate New York had been investigating a possible E. coli outbreak there for weeks, after several cases of sickness were reported. The Erie County health department issued an alert last month after a Daemen College student was diagnosed with E. coli after eating in the school's dining hall.

But a public health spokeswoman in the University of Michigan's county told several news agencies the students there weren't sickened by campus food. Susan Cerniglia said they're believed to have become ill after eating at local restaurants.

On Wednesday, New York state's public health laboratory in Albany confirmed the presence of E. coli in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods lettuce that came from a processing facility also linked to illnesses, the FDA said.

Freshway says the recalled lettuce has been sold in Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

E. coli infection can manifest with a wide range of symptoms, from none or mild diarrhea to severe complications, including kidney damage. The three patients with life-threatening symptoms have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause bleeding in the brain or kidneys.

http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/lettuce-recalled-in-23-states-after-e-coli-outbreak/19468476

[Mere]

A reminder.....information about the Romaine Lettuce recall may not be getting to the
individuals that need it.  I was served a big bowl of romaine lettuce with my supper at
a local restaurant.  The manager had "no idea" of a recall.  I am in the area of the recall.

The current information from the FDA is at this link.....

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm211131.htm

[2NJSons_Mom]

Lettuce recall expands as FDA investigates E. coli
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 3 mins ago
WASHINGTON – A recall of romaine lettuce that has sickened students with E. coli poisoning is expanding as the government tries to find out where the contamination occurred.

The Food and Drug Administration said late Monday that a food distributor in Moore, Okla., is recalling romaine lettuce that came from the same farm in Yuma, Ariz., that grew lettuce that sickened students in Michigan, Ohio and New York. Ohio-based Freshway Foods announced a 23-state recall of romaine lettuce last week related to those outbreaks.

At least 19 people have been sickened in connection with the E. coli outbreaks, which come from a rare strain of the disease that is difficult to diagnose. The federal Centers for Disease Control has said they are looking at another 10 probable cases of E. coli poisoning in connection with the tainted lettuce.

The FDA said it is investigating the Yuma farm from which the romaine lettuce was harvested and is attempting to determine the point in the supply chain where the contamination occurred. The agency declined to name the farm that grew it.

Many of those sickened were students at colleges and universities in the three states. Middle and high school students in New York were also sickened, including a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause bleeding in the brain or kidneys. Local health authorities in Dutchess County, where the students fell ill, said they are all expected to make a full recovery.

Most of the lettuce recalled was sold to food service establishments. It does not affect bagged lettuce in the grocery store.

A spokeswoman for California-based Andrew Smith Co. said on Monday that the company is recalling lettuce sold to Vaughn Foods in Moore, Okla. and also to another distributor in Massachusetts. Spokeswoman Amy Philpott would not give the name of that distributor because the lettuce is already past its expiration date, she said.

Philpott would not say if Andrew Smith Co. sold the lettuce recalled last week to Freshway Foods, though she did confirm that Freshway Foods is one of the company's clients.

The "use by" date of the lettuce sold to Vaughn Foods is May 9 or 10, according to the FDA. The FDA said that lettuce distributed by the company was sold to restaurants and food service facilities and were not available for purchase at retail establishments by consumers.

Andrew Smith Co. buys bulk romaine lettuce from farms and sells it to distributors. Those distributors, such as Freshway Foods and Vaughn Foods, then sell it to food service outlets or retail customers.

Freshway Foods said last week it was recalling the romaine lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands. No contamination was found at the company's processing plant, according to the FDA. New York state's Public Health Laboratory discovered the contamination in a bag of Freshway Foods shredded romaine lettuce on May 6 after local authorities had been investigating the outbreak for several weeks.

College students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y., are among those who were affected by the outbreak, according to health departments in those states. The middle and high school students sickened by the lettuce attended four schools in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. and nearby Hopewell Junction, N.Y.

Health officials said most of the college-age victims were sickened in April and have already recovered. A May 6 letter to parents from the New York superintendent, James Parla, said there were two confirmed cases, three probable cases and one suspected case of E. coli in the middle and high schools but no new cases had been reported since April 25.

The most common strain of E. coli found in U.S. patients is E. coli O157. The CDC said the strain linked to the lettuce, E. coli 0145, is more difficult to identify and may go unreported. E. coli infection can cause mild diarrhea or more severe complications, including kidney damage.

Dr. Patricia Griffin, director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases at the CDC, said only about five percent of labs do a special test that identifies E. coli 0145. The current lettuce outbreak is the first time the CDC has identified the pathogen in the United States, she said.

"Because of problems identifying these infections we've probably missed outbreaks," she added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100511/ap_on_bi_ge/us_lettuce_recall/print

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FDA Link describes the expansion of the recall....and notes the investigation of a farm in Yuma, AZ that supplied the product to both companies now involved in the recall.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm211529.htm

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EXPANDING.....NOW IN 4TH STATE.....TENNESSEE

Lettuce E. coli outbreak spreads to fourth state By the CNN Wire Staff
May 13, 2010 1:19 p.m. EDT
 
There have been 23 confirmed cases of E. coli from lettuce, the CDC says.

E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 23 people in four states
No deaths have been reported

Freshway Foods and Vaughan Foods have recalled bagged lettuce products

(CNN) -- An outbreak of food-borne illness linked to romaine lettuce has spread to four states and sickened at least 23 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Tennessee is the latest state to confirm a case of E. coli 0145, which has already sickened people in Michigan, Ohio and New York.

The CDC said Wednesday that the confirmed cases rose to 23 from the 19 it reported last week. The agency also is reporting seven other probable cases that have not been confirmed yet.

No deaths have been reported.

Investigators have linked the illnesses to tainted romaine lettuce grown on a farm in Yuma, Arizona.

Two distributors -- Freshway Foods and Vaughan Foods -- have voluntarily recalled bagged lettuce that was harvested from the farm.

Continue article here....
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/13/lettuce.recall/index.html?hpt=T2