FDA Tests Romaine Lettuce in Yuma Growing Region for Pathogens
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the results of a sampling assignment involving romaine lettuce that was grown in the Yuma, AZ, growing region.
FDA tested some of the area’s romaine lettuce for two pathogens: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp in what appears to be a proactive and preventive effort after the 2018 E.coli O157:H7 outbreak that was traced back to romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region. That outbreak—which caused 210 illnesses in 36 states—claimed the lives of five people. Besides that outbreak, FDA says that there have been five other suspected or confirmed multistate outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to produce harvested in the Yuma growing region since 2012.