U.S.: E. coli outbreak 'appears to be over', says CDC

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U.S.: E. coli outbreak 'appears to be over', says CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has said the most recent E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce "appears to be over", it announced in an update this week.

The outbreak came to light on Nov. 20, just as people across the U.S. were about to sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. The CDC at the time advised that all romaine lettuce should be removed from the supply chain.

As of Jan. 9, 62 illnesses were reported from 16 states and the District of Columbia. Some illnesses were also reported in Canada.

In the U.S., California, New Jersey and New York had the highest number of cases. No deaths have been reported in either country.

Authorities said the infected lettuce came from coastal growing areas in northern and central California. CDC analyzed water and sediment samples from an Adam Bros. Farming, Inc. farm in Santa Barbara County, which was one of the farms identified in the traceback investigation.

"FDA [the Food and Drug Administration] is continuing to investigate to learn more about how the E. coli bacteria could have entered the agricultural water reservoir and ways romaine lettuce from the farm could have been contaminated," the CDC said.

"The FDA is able to confirm that Adam Bros. Farming, Inc. has not shipped romaine since November 20, 2018. Romaine lettuce from Adam Bros. Farming, Inc. linked to this outbreak is no longer available for sale."

FDA continues its investigation of farms identified in traceback.

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