Lettuce recall expands as FDA investigates E. coli
WASHINGTON
The Food and Drug Administration said late Monday that a food
distributor in Moore, Okla., is recalling romaine lettuce that came
from the same farm in Yuma, Ariz., that grew lettuce that sickened
students in Michigan, Ohio and New York. Ohio-based Freshway Foods
announced a 23-state recall of romaine lettuce last week related to
those outbreaks.
At least 19 people have been sickened in connection with the E.
coli outbreaks, which come from a rare strain of the disease that
is difficult to diagnose. Officials at the federal Centers for
Disease Control say they are looking at an additional 10 probable
cases of E. coli poisoning from tainted lettuce.
The FDA said it is investigating the Yuma farm where the romaine
lettuce was harvested and is attempting to determine the point in
the supply chain where the contamination occurred. The agency
declined to identify the farm.
Many of those who became ill were college students in the three
states. Middle and high school students in New York were also
sickened, including a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old who developed
hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause bleeding in the brain or
kidneys. Local health authorities in Dutchess County, where the
students fell ill, said they are all expected to make a full
recovery.
Most of the lettuce recalled was sold to food service
establishments. The recall does not affect bagged lettuce in the
grocery store.
California-based Andrew Smith Co. said Monday it is recalling
lettuce sold to Vaughn Foods in Moore, Okla., and to a distributor
in Massachusetts. Amy Philpott, speaking for the company, would not
identify that distributor because the lettuce is already past its
expiration date.
Philpott would not say if Andrew Smith Co. sold the lettuce
recalled last week to Freshway Foods, though she did confirm that
Freshway Foods is one of the company's clients.
The "use by" date of the lettuce sold to Vaughn Foods is May 9
or 10, according to the FDA. The FDA said lettuce distributed by
the company was sold to restaurants and food service facilities and
were not available for purchase at retail establishments by
consumers.
Andrew Smith Co. buys bulk romaine lettuce from farms and sells
it to distributors. Those distributors, such as Freshway Foods and
Vaughn Foods, then sell it to food service outlets or retail
customers.
Freshway Foods said last week it was recalling the romaine
lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia under the
Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands. No contamination was found at
the company's processing plant, according to the FDA. New York
officials discovered the contamination in a bag of Freshway Foods
shredded romaine lettuce last week after local authorities had been
investigating the outbreak for several weeks.
Students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State
in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, N.Y., are among those
who were affected by the outbreak. Middle and high school students
sickened by the lettuce attended four schools in Wappingers Falls,
N.Y. and nearby Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
Health officials said most of the college-age victims fell ill
in April and have already recovered. No new cases have been
reported in the middle and high schools since April 25.
The most common strain of E. coli found in U.S. patients is E.
coli O157. The CDC said the strain linked to the lettuce, E. coli
0145, is more difficult to identify and may go unreported. E. coli
infection can cause mild diarrhea or more severe complications,
including kidney damage.
Dr. Patricia Griffin at the CDC said only about 5 percent of
labs do a special test that identifies E. coli 0145. This is the
first time that strain has been identified as part of a food-borne
outbreak in the United States, she said.
"Because of problems identifying these infections we've
probably missed outbreaks," she added.