Officials are warning consumers of local produce about a possible E. Coli outbreak involving romaine lettuce.
So far, there have been 40 cases of E. Coli reported across 16 states. As a result of this outbreak, 28 people have been hospitalized. However, no deaths as a result of this outbreak have been reported.
This outbreak has resulted in a recall for romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, and officials with the Center for Disease Control say to not only avoid romaine grown there, but to also avoid romaine lettuce that lacks a label indicating where it originates from.
In a press release issued to KSCO, local Congressman Jimmy Panetta stated the following last Friday:
“Today, I spoke with FDA leadership about the bacterial contamination outbreak linked to romaine. As the representative of the Salinas Valley, food safety is of the utmost importance to me and my constituents. I urged Deputy Commissioner Yiannas to work collaboratively and communicatively with industry partners to minimize any health risks to consumers and reduce the loss of safe and healthy crops that are not connected to this outbreak. He promised to provide my office with daily updates throughout the investigation. I will continue to work with the FDA, CDC, and our producers to ensure that the investigation is completed in a timely manner so that our consumers are safe and our industry is secure in its production of romaine.”
