Yuma lettuce tied to E. coli

Chopped romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma area is believed to be the source of a recent E. coli outbreak, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak has caused illness for 35 people across 11 states.

The CDC states that up to now no specific grower, supplier, distributor or brand has been identified as the source yet. The announcement was made Friday afternoon.

As part of its announcement, CDC officials are advising consumers across the country against purchasing or eating any romaine lettuce originating in Yuma or whose origins they cannot confirm, whether at home or at restaurants.

“Consumers anywhere in the United States, who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away,” the CDC stated on its website.

A survey the agency conducted with 28 of the individuals who became ill found out that 26 of them had consumed chopped romaine lettuce in the previous week before the illness began.

Pennsylvania, Idaho and New Jersey have reported the most illnesses to date.

Although the lettuce in question is believed to come from Yuma, there have been no reports of E. coli related illnesses in Arizona, California or throughout the Southwest.

Imperial County Public Information Officer Linsey Dale said that as of Friday, the county Department of Public Health had not received a notice of any contaminated produce being shipped to Imperial County. In case of a potential outbreak the ICDPH would be the lead agency in the response.

“During a potential E. coli outbreak, the California Department of Public Health would notify the Imperial County Department of Public Health by providing a list of vendors that had received the contaminated produce. Health officials would then contact these vendors to ensure the product was removed from the shelves and unavailable for consumption,” Dale said. “The produce industry has led the traceability movement by developing best management practices that enable traceability across the supply chain. Under this program, a contaminated product can be identified and removed from the market quickly without the need for commodity wide recalls.”

The CDC also reported that illnesses that occurred after March 27 might not be reported yet due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported, which takes two to three weeks.

The investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide more information as it becomes available.