Food and Drug Administration investigators have traced the E. coli outbreak that has sickened scores of people in the Midwest to romaine lettuce sold by Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio. Yesterday, Freshway Foods issued a recall of romaine lettuce sold in 23 states from the Atlantic coast to Kansas, including Pennsylvania. Freshway Foods sells pre-cut salad mixes, fruits and vegetables to restaurants, food service outlets, wholesale and in-store salad bars. A number of the people who recently suffered personal injury illness caused by ingesting E. coli contaminated lettuce had eaten at local grocery store deli salad bars. However, the FDA reassured Philadelphia consumers that the recalled lettuce is not sold as a retail product directly to consumers so the recall does not affect bagged or fresh lettuce purchased in Philadelphia grocery stores. The FDA is still investigating the source of E. coli contamination. It is not yet known if contamination occurred during lettuce processing, transport to the processing plant or during cultivation on the farm. Freshway Foods contracts with multiple lettuce suppliers.
This most recent E. coli personal injury outbreak has public health experts criticizing food safety procedures. Critics charge that inadequate testing has led to an unprecedented number of food-borne personal injury illness incidents in recent years. In the wake of recent E. coli contamination of beef products, Wal-Mart last week announced that it will now require its beef suppliers to test for additional contaminants beyond testing required by the FDA.
E. coli causes severe diarrhea and abdominal cramping that often necessitate hospitalization. While most healthy adults recover within a week but E. coli can kill. Children are particularly vulnerable. The current E. coli outbreak involves a rare and particularly toxic strain of the bacteria that is not included in standard food safety tests. If you are concerned that you may have been infected with E. coli from tainted lettuce, contact a Philadelphia personal injury attorney about your rights.
