A food poisoning outbreak in Canada linked to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell and KFC restaurants has sickened at least 28 people with E.coli poisoning, according to Canadian health officials. The shredded lettuce was produced in California, but a specific grower has not been identified or come forward.
“Our sympathies immediately go out to those who have been sickened and the first thing we ask ourselves is what can we do to make our food safety systems even better,” Ryan Talley, chairman of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement said in a statement. “Consumers should know that if there is an outbreak determined to be associated with California leafy greens, the LGMA is committed to working with health officials to assist in determining the cause. Traceback and recall capabilities that are a mandatory part of our program can be initiated and any product with the potential to be associated with the outbreak is removed from market channels to protect consumers. Information about any implicated farms is made available to authorities, and re-inspections can be done. If it is determined that an outbreak is the result of any on-farm practice, the food safety measures included in the LGMA program will be examined and, if necessary, changed.”
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it is investigating which food safety controls were followed at each step of production, processing and distribution. The two most recent cases were people in Ontario who fell ill toward the end of December and the beginning of January. There are now 6 cases in New Brunswick, 10 in Nova Scotia and 12 in Ontario. Most of the case patients have recovered or are recovering.
Freshpoint Toronto, which distributed the lettuce to restaurants in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, has expanded the recall of the lettuce to include products under the brand names Sysco, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Yum. The recalled products include, hearts of romaine, romaine/iceberg mixes, shredded and chopped iceberg and shredded and chopped romaine.
