Romaine lettuce 'prime suspect' in E. coli outbreak in Ontario
Romaine lettuce 'prime suspect' in E. coli outbreak in Ontario
Salinas, CA, is once again in the hot seat.
Canadian and U.S. officials are investigating an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 30 people, nine of whom were hospitalized, in southeastern Ontario.
The outbreak began in the regional municipality of Niagara, which encompasses the tourist attraction Niagara Falls, at the end of October, and "the last probable case" was reported on Nov. 13, Rene Cardinal, the acting national manager of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's fresh fruit and vegetable program told The Produce News Nov. 24. "We have nine cases hospitalized and two with [hemolytic uremic syndrome]."
Mr. Cardinal said that the 30 confirmed cases all tested positive for E. coli 0157:H7 and matched the specific genetic fingerprint of the outbreak. The inspection agency was waiting for laboratory test confirmations on another 123 probable cases from the public health units in Niagara, Halton, Waterloo, Wellington/Dufferin/Guelph and Hamilton.
He said that though the investigation was not completed, "through epidemiological studies, Romaine [lettuce] is basically the prime suspect."
As this article was being prepared, the investigation had centered on Romaine grown in California, and Ralph Montano, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, told The Produce News Nov. 24 that "in cooperation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the CDPH is following up on information received from Canadian health officials regarding a foodborne outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 illness in Canada potentially linked to Romaine lettuce. CDPH is currently conducting a farm investigation based on the information supplied by Canadian authorities."
Mr. Montano declined to comment on the location of the investigation or the names of the grower or growers involved.
Mr. Cardinal said that the inspection agency was working with the FDA, and the Public Health Agency of Canada was working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to determine the source of the problems. At this stage of the investigation, he said, the inspection agency was responsible for working on traceability, and as soon as studies led to Romaine, the agency began taking samples of product grown in Salinas at wholesalers and foodservice distributors in the Toronto area.
"So far, we don't have any positives," Mr. Cardinal said, noting that the agency has stopped taking samples because the industry has transitioned to other growing areas.
Tests for E. coli at the establishments in Ontario that were being investigated -- Jonathan's Family Restaurant in Burlington, M.T. Bellies Tap in Welland, Little Red Rooster in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pita Pit at the University of Guelph in Guelph, and St. Mary's Catholic School cafeteria in Kitchener -- have yielded negative tests results for E. coli. All have been reopened.
He added, "We did a traceability [test] on at least one restaurant [using a] sample case from the restaurant to the supplier and the supplier directly to California," said Mr. Cardinal. "The others are more complex; there are a few middle people between the supplier and the restaurant, and it's a little more difficult to do traceability."
Robin Williams, medical officer of health for the public health department of the regional municipality of Niagara, told The Produce News Nov. 24 that "for us, locally the outbreak is over."
Niagara was the region hardest hit by the outbreak with 56 cases, 14 of which were lab confirmed. Four of the 14 victims were hospitalized, one of whom was suffering from HUS. Dr. Williams noted that the region sees about six cases of E. coli in an average year.
She added that when the first cases were reported Oct. 24, her department thought they might be part of another E. coli outbreak at a Harvey's restaurant in North Bay, ON, earlier in October that had sickened two Niagara residents. But it soon became apparent that this was a separate outbreak.
"Our statistical signal showed us Romaine lettuce in the series of investigations we did, but we were unable to match fingerprints in the produce we examined," she said.
Dr. Williams added that 100 food and environmental samples were taken in late October in each of the two restaurants in her jurisdiction (the Little Red Rooster and M.T. Bellies), all of which returned results that were negative for E. coli 0157:H7.
She said that "both operations had good track records, and they worked very hard with us to try to figure it out and did everything we asked, and at the end of the day, I think they were victims to what came in through their doors as opposed to any food handling issue or procedure on their part."
Andrew Morrison, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long Term Care, told The Produce News that the province typically sees about 350 cases of E. coli a year, and even with the two outbreaks this year, there have been only 261 reported cases of E. coli as of Nov. 24 in Ontario.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Mr. Morrison said that "no source has been confirmed," adding that "in Ontario, in 60-70 percent of foodborne investigations, the source is never found" because the food is either consumed, thrown out or spoiled.
Though it was too early to discuss specifically, Mr. Cardinal said that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency "would take any follow up actions necessary depending on the FDA's investigation."
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement, told The Produce News that the organization has "been aware that there was an outbreak in Canada for some time, and we've been tracking the media stories on it. As far as I know, it's basically an ongoing investigation and they haven't figured out anything definitively. We're willing to help out if we get asked, but haven't been asked so far."
Canadian and U.S. officials are investigating an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 30 people, nine of whom were hospitalized, in southeastern Ontario.
The outbreak began in the regional municipality of Niagara, which encompasses the tourist attraction Niagara Falls, at the end of October, and "the last probable case" was reported on Nov. 13, Rene Cardinal, the acting national manager of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's fresh fruit and vegetable program told The Produce News Nov. 24. "We have nine cases hospitalized and two with [hemolytic uremic syndrome]."
Mr. Cardinal said that the 30 confirmed cases all tested positive for E. coli 0157:H7 and matched the specific genetic fingerprint of the outbreak. The inspection agency was waiting for laboratory test confirmations on another 123 probable cases from the public health units in Niagara, Halton, Waterloo, Wellington/Dufferin/Guelph and Hamilton.
He said that though the investigation was not completed, "through epidemiological studies, Romaine [lettuce] is basically the prime suspect."
As this article was being prepared, the investigation had centered on Romaine grown in California, and Ralph Montano, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, told The Produce News Nov. 24 that "in cooperation with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the CDPH is following up on information received from Canadian health officials regarding a foodborne outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 illness in Canada potentially linked to Romaine lettuce. CDPH is currently conducting a farm investigation based on the information supplied by Canadian authorities."
Mr. Montano declined to comment on the location of the investigation or the names of the grower or growers involved.
Mr. Cardinal said that the inspection agency was working with the FDA, and the Public Health Agency of Canada was working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to determine the source of the problems. At this stage of the investigation, he said, the inspection agency was responsible for working on traceability, and as soon as studies led to Romaine, the agency began taking samples of product grown in Salinas at wholesalers and foodservice distributors in the Toronto area.
"So far, we don't have any positives," Mr. Cardinal said, noting that the agency has stopped taking samples because the industry has transitioned to other growing areas.
Tests for E. coli at the establishments in Ontario that were being investigated -- Jonathan's Family Restaurant in Burlington, M.T. Bellies Tap in Welland, Little Red Rooster in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Pita Pit at the University of Guelph in Guelph, and St. Mary's Catholic School cafeteria in Kitchener -- have yielded negative tests results for E. coli. All have been reopened.
He added, "We did a traceability [test] on at least one restaurant [using a] sample case from the restaurant to the supplier and the supplier directly to California," said Mr. Cardinal. "The others are more complex; there are a few middle people between the supplier and the restaurant, and it's a little more difficult to do traceability."
Robin Williams, medical officer of health for the public health department of the regional municipality of Niagara, told The Produce News Nov. 24 that "for us, locally the outbreak is over."
Niagara was the region hardest hit by the outbreak with 56 cases, 14 of which were lab confirmed. Four of the 14 victims were hospitalized, one of whom was suffering from HUS. Dr. Williams noted that the region sees about six cases of E. coli in an average year.
She added that when the first cases were reported Oct. 24, her department thought they might be part of another E. coli outbreak at a Harvey's restaurant in North Bay, ON, earlier in October that had sickened two Niagara residents. But it soon became apparent that this was a separate outbreak.
"Our statistical signal showed us Romaine lettuce in the series of investigations we did, but we were unable to match fingerprints in the produce we examined," she said.
Dr. Williams added that 100 food and environmental samples were taken in late October in each of the two restaurants in her jurisdiction (the Little Red Rooster and M.T. Bellies), all of which returned results that were negative for E. coli 0157:H7.
She said that "both operations had good track records, and they worked very hard with us to try to figure it out and did everything we asked, and at the end of the day, I think they were victims to what came in through their doors as opposed to any food handling issue or procedure on their part."
Andrew Morrison, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long Term Care, told The Produce News that the province typically sees about 350 cases of E. coli a year, and even with the two outbreaks this year, there have been only 261 reported cases of E. coli as of Nov. 24 in Ontario.
While the investigation is still ongoing, Mr. Morrison said that "no source has been confirmed," adding that "in Ontario, in 60-70 percent of foodborne investigations, the source is never found" because the food is either consumed, thrown out or spoiled.
Though it was too early to discuss specifically, Mr. Cardinal said that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency "would take any follow up actions necessary depending on the FDA's investigation."
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement, told The Produce News that the organization has "been aware that there was an outbreak in Canada for some time, and we've been tracking the media stories on it. As far as I know, it's basically an ongoing investigation and they haven't figured out anything definitively. We're willing to help out if we get asked, but haven't been asked so far."
