California lettuce suspected in E. coli cases

CFIA WILL TAKE STEPS TO KEEP SUSPECT PRODUCTS OUT OF CANADA

The federal government is advising the food industry not to import romaine lettuce from areas in the U.S. suspected of producing lettuce contaminated with E. coli.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it will also take steps to make sure products from areas identified by the American Food and Drug Administration are not being allowed into Canada.

The measures come after the FDA said it suspects romaine lettuce harvested in parts of California this month is the source of an outbreak of E. coli O157 that has made people sick in both Canada and the States.

The agency says it is continuing its own investigation into several E. coli cases linked to the romaine lettuce, and is sharing its findings with its American counterparts.

Three more cases of E. coli were confirmed in Ontario and Quebec last week, bringing the total number since mid-October to 22 with at least one case in New Brunswick.

The agency recommended people in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick not eat romaine lettuce and throw out any they still have in the fridge, but stopped short of issuing a recall.

Meanwhile, U.S. health officials said Monday it’s OK to eat some romaine lettuce again. Just check the label.

The Food and Drug Administration narrowed its blanket warning from last week, when it said people shouldn’t eat any romaine because of an E. coli outbreak. The agency said Monday the romaine linked to the outbreak appears to be from California’s Central Coast region. It said romaine from elsewhere should soon be labelled with harvest dates and regions, so people know it’s OK to eat.

People shouldn’t eat romaine that doesn’t have the label information, the FDA said.

With files from the Associated Press