News

FDA finds a source of E. coli-tainted romaine

December 14, 2018

One farm's water reservoir has been pinpointed as a primary source of the E. coli that tainted romaine lettuce and prompted the FDA to virtually halt all sales of the salad mainstay. The federal food safety organization said a local irrigation reservoir used only by Adam Bros. Farming in Santa Barbara County, California, has been pinpointed as a source of the problematic greens, but that is by no means the whole story, according to a release.

The good news is that the tainted romaine has either gone past its shelf life or been pulled from the nation's supply, according to an FDA news release. This means that it is safe for foodservice establishments to serve romaine harvested after Nov. 23 outside the areas of Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura counties. Restaurant operators who aren't able to confirm that romaine lettuce comes from unaffected sources should not purchase or consume it.

On Nov. 20, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the American public of a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157: H7, which had been linked to romaine lettuce. The public was advised not to eat any romaine lettuce at that time. As of Dec. 13, 59 people from 15 states have become sick after eating lettuce, the FDA said. 

Also on Nov. 20, the FDA began working with romaine producers and distributors, who voluntarily withdrew romaine from the market to help contain the outbreak while the agencies launched a traceback investigation to determine the source of the problem. Romaine producers and distributors voluntarily began to label their product with its origin and harvest date.

A positive E. coli sample from the reservoir used by Adam Bros. Farming came back as a genetic match to the strain that caused the sickness. As of Dec. 13, the FDA and CDC said their investigation revealed that five restaurants in four states had identified 11 distributors, nine growers and eight farms as potential sources of contaminated romaine lettuce. As of press time, the FDA had not confirmed the names of the five restaurants affected. 

To date, no one farm has been found to be in common with all of the affected supply chains. According to the FDA, this means that although it has identified a positive sample from one farm to date, the outbreak may not be explained by a single farm, grower, harvester or distributor.

As a result, the FDA said the findings from Adam Bros. cannot explain all of the illnesses. Authorities are continuing their traceback investigation to narrow down commonalities between Adam Bros. operations and those of other farms in the investigation. 

Romaine lettuce harvested outside of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara Counties in California after Nov. 23 appeared to be free of the source of the outbreak, the FDA said. Hydroponically and greenhouse-grown romaine also was deemed not to be among possible E. coli sources and safe to consume.