FDA warns about lettuce after illness
July 29, 2002 Posted: 4:45 PM EDT (2045 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. health officials Monday warned Americans not to eat Spokane Produce brand romaine lettuce after the product was associated with an E. coli outbreak at a cheerleading camp in Washington state.

Twenty-nine people at the camp in mid-July had confirmed cases of E. coli, the Food and Drug Administration said. A salad made with the lettuce is considered a "primary source" of the E. coli, FDA spokeswoman Ruth Welch said.

"Consumers should ask at the place of purchase in order to assure that they do not consume Spokane Produce brand romaine lettuce until this health emergency is resolved," the FDA said in a statement.

The lettuce, which is sold under several brand names, was packaged in five-pound bags and distributed by Food Services of America, the FDA said. It also may be sold at stores in various size packages, the agency said.

"FDA urges consumers to throw out this product," an agency statement said.

E. coli causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults recover within a week, but some people, including young children and the elderly, can develop a form of kidney failure that can be deadly.

Welch said investigations were ongoing and officials were unsure where the lettuce had been distributed. In the past, Food Services of America had distributed the product to restaurants and institutions in Idaho, Montana and Oregon, the FDA said.

A woman who answered the phone at Spokane Produce, and who declined to give her name, said the company had no comment.

Gary Odegard, a spokesman for Food Services of America, said the company had stopped distributing the lettuce while the investigation continued.

"We are not distributing any more, but we don't know yet if the product is tainted at all," he said.

Kent

Kent,

Thanks for the info -- Romaine is a staple at our house and I had not heard anything at all about the recall.

They blame the lettuce, but what about the other ingredients? Also, what about how the salad was prepared? If the outbreak is only at one public place, it is possible that the contamination was also local and not in the romaine.

;-Deb

Always wash lettuce carefully, and even if you've done it, if you don't eat it at once, wash it yet again before eating it the next day. Cross contamination can take place at the grocery store when the produce is being readied for display.

Remember that residual bacteria can reestablish themselves on the surface even after washing. Cantaloupe has been contaminated when the cutting knife passes through the rind and into the flesh.

A little known fact is that the source of food poisoning in potato salad is not the mayonnaise, but the potato which is a very good medium for culturing bacteria. Of course, no one here eats potato salad anymore, right?