WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Food-safety investigators have traced the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak to Californian growing fields, but regulators still say it's unsafe to eat the leafy green in 11 states.
Meanwhile, federal regulators are holding public meetings to discuss new efforts to limit future food poisonings, like the 32 cases that prompted alerts discouraging eating any romaine lettuce indefinitely just days before Thanksgiving.
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently updated Americans about the romaine lettuce outbreak.
"CDC’s disease detectives are working with federal regulatory partners to investigate and determine the source of contamination as quickly as possible," said Redfield, adding the CDC's disease surveillance system caught the outbreak early and probably prevented further illness.
"However, until we know more, it’s crucial that Americans continue to follow the guidance that CDC issued," he said. "There are no exceptions – all romaine lettuce must be discarded, regardless of brand, type or if it is in a mixture."
CDC continued to urge people to follow its tips to help prevent E. coli illness. In addition, it reminded clinicians that antibiotics are not recommended for patients in whom this E. coli strain is suspected until diagnostic testing rules out the infection.
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Friday morning that the outbreak is linked to California-based romaine lettuce. He noted the Golden State connection is based on observed "growing and harvesting patterns," USA TODAY reported.
The commissioner's comments suggested that romaine grown in other states may soon be safe to eat.
"New romaine from different growing regions, including Florida and Arizona, will soon be harvested," Gottlieb tweeted. "We’re working with growers and distributors on labeling produce for location and harvest date and possibly other ways of informing consumers that the product is 'post-purge.' "
He also said the FDA is hoping to create a new labeling standard that would require companies to show where lettuce is from and when it is harvested.
Two days before Thanksgiving, the CDC issued a food safety alert saying 32 people across 11 states had become sick because of contaminated romaine lettuce.
States affected by the outbreak include California (which had the highest number of cases – 10), Michigan, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The Food and Drug Administration announced recently that it will hold four one-day public meetings to discuss the recently published draft guidance created to help farmers meet the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule.
The draft guidance is a compliance and implementation guide that gives information and examples to demonstrate how farmers can meet the rule’s requirements in various ways, the agency said.
Established by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the rule requires that domestic and foreign farms use science and risk-based preventive measures to protect their fruits and vegetables from contamination.
