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Grocery stores, restaurants and lettuce producers have reacted quickly to remove romaine lettuce grown in Salinas from the supply chain channels to protect consumers. Romaine from growing areas other than Salinas is making its way back in to produce aisles and menus just in time for the holidays.
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control issued an update regarding expanding illnesses in the E. coli 0157:H7 foodborne illness outbreak associated with Romaine lettuce.
Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released information about an inactive E. coli outbreak involving 23 illnesses possibly associated with romaine lettuce occurring between July 12 and Sept. 8, 2019. No public health agency is advising consumers to avoid eating romaine and no suspected product remains in marketing channels. According to the FDA, its investigation has reached its end and the outbreak appears to be over.
As people and organizations throughout the produce industry say goodbye to Bob Whitaker, who announced he will be retiring at the end of the year, the LGMA would be remiss if we didn’t recognize his many years of dedicated service in our own way. And so, during a reception at this year’s Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit, we presented Bob with our highest honor – the LGMA’s Golden Checkmark Award.
A few weeks back the LGMA was pleased to host a group comprised almost entirely of registered dietitians and professional communicators who share a common goal with the leafy greens community – they want people to eat more fruits and vegetables. The LGMA is currently working on a new effort which partners lettuce farmers with registered dietitians and consumer advocates to help spread the word about all that leafy greens farmers are doing to produce safe food.
From August 20th through 22nd, we had the pleasure of hosting, along with the Canadian Produce Marketing association (CPMA), a delegation of officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The group visited farms and a processing facility in the Salinas area, and we also had plenty of time to talk about the leafy greens industry, the LGMA and Canada’s new food safety laws and the impact they can have on produce imports in the country.
