E. coli Contamination Results in Lettuce Recall in Canada, the United States, and Puerto Rico

Food Safety News reports that a California produce grower has issued a voluntary recall of one lot of romaine lettuce due to suspected E. coli contamination. The lettuce in question was shipped to 19 states in America, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico.

The outbreak was detected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after the agency discovered E. coli when testing a random sample. Upon hearing this news, the company responsible for producing the lettuce announced their voluntary recall of the product.

The tainted lot was packaged in a plastic bag with a UPC of # 0-27918-20314-9, and a “best by” date of August 19th. The products were shipped in cases consisting of either 12 or 18 heads, and 1,969 cases were distributed amongst the 19 US states.

The states where the affected products were shipped include, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

To date, there have been no reported illnesses from the contaminated lettuce.

“EMSL Analytical is one of the industry’s foremost food testing laboratories offering analysis of E. coli and other food borne pathogens,” states Jason Dobranic Ph.D., EMSL’s Vice President of Microbiology & Life Sciences. “We use various validated methods that are recognized and accepted by regulatory agencies, and we offer rapid pathogen screens when appropriate and requested.”
For more information about EMSL’s testing services, please contact EMSL at 800-220-3675,  info@EMSL.com , or visit www.EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a full service testing company providing quality lab services under the same private ownership since 1981. Including the corporate lab facility in Cinnaminson, NJ, EMSL Analytical operates over thirty laboratories nationwide in the US and Canada. We provide analytical services for environmental, indoor air quality (IAQ), industrial hygiene, forensics and materials science, consumer products, food safety, PCR, pharmaceutical, asbestos, lead, and radiological samples. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations, as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

Contact Information

Joseph Frasca

Senior Vice President of Marketing

EMSL Analytical

(1) 1-800-220-3675

jfrasca@emsl.com