FDA: Nearby Cattle Grazing Land Likely to Blame for Late 2019 Romaine Lettuce Outbreaks
Findings from a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation point to close proximity to cattle as the most likely contributing factor to three romaine lettuce Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks that occurred in late 2019.
FDA, along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and various state health officials were able to determine that the contaminated lettuce was grown in the Salinas Valley, CA, growing region. The three outbreaks—two multistate and one single-state—resulted in 188 illnesses.