A Center for Produce Safety-funded study is working to characterize the physiological changes that occur in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC) bacteria that is present on romaine lettuce during postharvest cooling and refrigerated transport to processors, which could affect the pathogen’s virulence and detectability characteristics. The end goal of the research is to develop an easily accessible online tool for industry that identifies practices to mitigate the risks of STEC transmission via romaine lettuce.

A study has demonstrated the economic impacts of foodborne illness outbreaks on supply chains by observing the damages caused by the 2018 Escherichia coli outbreak that was linked to romaine lettuce grown in California.

Due to concerns about Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) has implemented temporary Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license conditions for romaine lettuce imports from the U.S., specifically California’s Salinas Valley.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) recently published a Research Brief that highlights two recent food safety studies related to Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its findings from a romaine lettuce testing assignment in Yuma County, AZ, during early 2021.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated romaine lettuce from the Salinas, California and Yuma, Arizona growing regions and has released its findings.

The Journal of Food Protection recently reported another study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the source of three recent romaine lettuce outbreaks.

Food Safety Matters sits down for a far-reaching discussion with Will Daniels, IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group, that covers public health, drivers for food safety programs, where we go from here, and much more.

To curb leafy greens-related outbreaks, pilot studies were undertaken to identify how to improve food safety throughout the supply chain. Here’s what we learned.