Tainted romaine lettuce from California’s Salinas Valley has been linked to 102 illnesses in 23 states, health authorities reported Wednesday. The tally, including a case reported as recently as Nov. 18, more than doubles the magnitude of an ongoing outbreak linked to E. coli bacteria generally found in animals. Consumers should check whether their lettuce is labeled with a place of origin, and throw it out if it came from the Salinas Valley, the Food and Drug Administration advised. In late October, those agencies belatedly announced that 23 people in 12 states had been sickened by fecal bacteria traced to romaine lettuce between July and early September. Last year, a series of outbreaks linked to California romaine lettuce sickened more than 250 people.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 04, 2019 23:47 UTC