Canada appears to be battling two E. coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, CA. What’s going on?
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Phone: 1-888-377-8900 | Text: 1-612-261-0856
First E. coli Outbreak Linked to Salinas-Grown Romaine
The Public Health Agency Canada (PHAC) reported on December 6, 2019, that two illnesses in Canada, one in Manitoba and one in Alberta, are linked to the ongoing E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, CA that has sickened 102 people in the U.S. Those illnesses began on October 13 and November 3.
In the U.S., that outbreak includes 102 illnesses in 23 states. The total from each of those states is: Arizona (3), California (4), Colorado (6), Florida (1), Idaho (3), Illinois (1), Iowa (1), Maryland (4), Michigan (1), Minnesota (3), Montana (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (7), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (1), Ohio (12), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (8), South Dakota (1), Texas (4), Virginia (4), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (31).
The people sickened in this outbreak range in age from less than 1 year to 89 years old. They reported onset-of-illness dates ranging from September 24, 2019, to November 18, 2019.
Second E. coli Outbreak Linked to Salinas-Grown Romaine
Two days after PHAC announced the illnesses linked to the U.S. outbreak, it announced another outbreak. This one linked to a product containing Salinas-grown romaine lettuce has sickened 16 people in five provinces. Canadian investigators identified that Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Kit bagged salads were the source of the outbreak.
Fresh Express issued a recall for the product in Canada. It includes all packages of Sunflower Crisp Chopped Kit bagged salads bearing a “Best Before dates” up to and including 07DE19, and a lot code beginning with “Z”, and indicating “Salinas” as a source of Romaine lettuce.
The people sickened, who range in age from 11 to 73 years of age, reported onset-of-illness dates between November 3 and November 17, 2019. Four people have been hospitalized. The number of cases reported from each province is as follows: Ontario (10), Quebec (1), New Brunswick (1 ), Nova Scotia (1) and New Foundland, Labrador (1).
The E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Hageman represent clients sickened by contaminated food. Our clients from the ongoing outbreak in the U.S. include a teenager who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infections that causes kidney failure. If you would like to request a free consultation with our E. coli Team, call us at 1-888-377-8900, text us at 612-261-0856 or, complete the form below.