Lettuce Recall in 23 States

by Naomi Shulman, Posted May 7th 2010 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Getty Images

A recall has been issued for romaine lettuce being sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia after an E. coli outbreak has sickened 19 people -- three of them critically so. According to the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that 12 people had been hospitalized, and the CDC is investigating 10 more cases that may be part of the outbreak as well.

Freshway Foods, a company that describes itself as one of the leading regional fresh-cut distributors in the country, sells the romaine under Freshway and Imperial Sysco brand names, and has recalled the produce after the question of a possible link to the E. coli outbreak was raised.

Although Freshway Foods is based in Ohio, the FDA is focusing on Arizona-grown lettuce as the potential culprit.

Among the people sickened in this outbreak have been college students attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State University, and Deamen College in Amherst, NY. Freshway sells its produce to a variety of food-service outlets; it's not yet clear where the students came into contact with the tainted food.

E.coli, a food-borne pathogen transmitted through feces, can cause serious, even fatal illness. According to the AP, three of the victims in this case are suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to bleeding in the kidneys and the brain.

If you live 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 or Wisconsin, or if you buy the "grab and go" salads sold at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets, and Marsh grocery stores, this recall could affect you. Check for the brand names Freshway and Imperial Sysco, with a sell-by date of May 12.

Filed Under: Health & Medical
Tags: e. coli outbreak, E.Coli, fda, featured, freshway foods, romaine lettuce

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-07-2010 @3:10PM christopher said... not to be preachy but what about consolidated food processing plants makes food safer? They do a great job of guaranteeing widespread foodbourne illness outbreaks. I don't understand that piece of the "Modernization of Food Safety Act" now in congress. Small farms have a great track record and forcing them out of business or into this system won't make me sleep easier.
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5-07-2010 @6:36PM Jyrrah said... Sadly small farms don't have the lobbying power that the processing plants do.

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5-07-2010 @7:30PM NeonBlack said... This makes me sad... E.coli poisoning is no joke. Reading the AP article, they mention that three people have come down with TTP/HUS. My (now) wife nearly died from this exact thing. She ended up in the hospital for a month and now has permanent kidney damage and really high blood pressure which is barely under control with 4 drugs. Treatment involved hooking her up to a machine through tubes in her neck that filtered out the plasma from her blood. It was horrible... Since we were at a major university hospital, she was an "interesting case" and was visited by no less than 8 doctors every morning. Every time this happens I wish I had the option to buy irradiated salads...
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5-10-2010 @6:29PM Shirl said... I live in Delaware. All the states around us were mentioned; but, not our state. I bought romaine 2 days ago from Food Lion. I asked the green grocer about the recall and he never heard about it. Shall I throw my romain away?
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