Thread: Lettuce in 23 states recalled over E. coli fears

Lettuce in 23 states recalled over E. coli fears

Shredded romaine, ‘grab and go’ salads linked to 19 cases of the illness

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
Associated Press Writer
updated 1 hour, 43 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - An E. coli outbreak possibly linked to tainted lettuce has sickened at least 19 people in Ohio, New York and Michigan, including students on at least two college campuses, prompting a recall throughout much of the country.

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, said it was recalling romaine lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of a possible link to E. coli.

Twelve of those sickened were hospitalized and three reported life-threatening symptoms, the Food and Drug Administration said. The federal Centers for Disease Control said it was looking at 10 other cases probably linked to the outbreak.

College students at Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y., are among those affected, according to local health departments in those states. Nine of the 10 confirmed cases in Michigan were in Washtenaw County, where the University of Michigan is located. It could not be determined immediately, however, whether that school was affected.

The FDA is focusing its investigation on lettuce grown in Arizona as a possible source for the outbreak, according to two people who have been briefed by the agency. Donna Rosenbaum, director of the food safety advocacy group Safe Tables Our Priority and one of those briefed, said the agency held a phone call with public health advocates Thursday.

Rosenbaum and other public health advocates have long been pushing for stronger food safety laws. The House passed a bill last year that would give the agency much more authority to police food production, but the Senate has not acted on it.

Eric Olsen, director of food and consumer product safety at the Pew Health Group, says this recall shows the food safety system is broken and outdated.

“We are rushing around after people who have been sick to try and find out what the cause was,â€

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