News

The U.S. CDC and FDA have declared e. Coli outbreaks associated with romaine lettuce grown in the Salinas, CA region over and the agencies have lifted the consumer advisory. In a statement, the FDA said there is no longer a need for consumers to avoid romaine lettuce from Salinas. Since the consumer advisory was first issued on November 21, 2019 California leafy greens farmers have taken action to prevent future outbreaks.

The Dr. Oz Show recently aimed to address salad safety, a current concern for many consumers. Dr. Oz is a big advocate for the health benefits of including leafy greens and lettuce in your diet and wants to make sure that his viewers, more than one million U.S. households, understand how to make sure the lettuce they buy is safe and also what farmers are doing to make crops safer.

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.