Freshway Lettuce Linked as E. coli Source
An unopened bag of shredded romaine lettuce distributed by Freshway Foods has tested positive for the same strain of E. coli O145 that has sickened at least 19 people in Ohio, Michigan and New York.
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That announcement from the Food and Drug Administration was paired with news that lettuce recalled by Ohio-based Freshway came from the same farm in Yuma, Arizona, that supplied Vaughn Foods of Moore, Oklahoma.
Now Vaughn is recalling romaine lettuce with “use‐by” dates of May 9 and May 10. As was the case at Freshway, the recalled romaine lettuce distributed by Vaughan Foods was sold to restaurants and food service facilities and was not available for purchase as a grocery item.
To date, there have been 19 confirmed and additional unconfirmed cases of E. coli O145 infections in Michigan, Ohio, and New York. These illnesses include 12 individuals who have been hospitalized, and three with a potentially life threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
HUS is a serious condition in which the body’s blood-clotting mechanisms are altered, causing blocked circulation or bleeding in the brain or kidneys.
Federal and state investigators are attempting to determine the point in the supply chain where the contamination occurred and are investigating a farm in the Yuma, Arizona area from which the romaine lettuce was harvested. Lettuce harvested from other geographic areas does not appear to be associated with this outbreak, the FDA news release said.
