With no new cases since mid-November, the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce in Canada appears to be over, and a federal health agency is no longer advising Canadians in affected areas to avoid eating the leafy green.
The Public Health Agency of Canada released an update of the outbreak on Dec. 24, withdrawing its consumer advisory on romaine in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, where 26 of the illnesses were reported. Three more cases were in British Columbia, but those people reported eating romaine in the U.S. or other Canadian provinces.
The Food and Drug Administration, which has reported 59 cases in the U.S. as of Dec. 18, has not declared the outbreak over. The FDA has focused its investigation on Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara counties in California, and health agencies in the U.S. and Canada advise that romaine from any other growing area, including Mexico and California’s Imperial and Riverside counties, is OK to eat.
The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to collaborate with U.S. agencies on the outbreak, according to the Dec. 24 update, and Canada’s investigation into the outbreak continues.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has implemented measures to identify imported U.S. romaine, and shippers must provide extra paperwork on romaine products detailing their origin. Blends without romaine must also provide extra documentation stating they’re romaine-free.
“The CFIA is continuing to monitor the U.S. FDA’s investigation into the possible causes of contamination and will amend their import control measures as necessary to ensure that romaine lettuce that was harvested in the affected California growing regions as identified by the (FDA) is not being imported into Canada,” according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
