May 6, 2010

Freshway Foods Issues Voluntary Recall of Lettuce

Freshway Foods, Sidney, Ohio, announced a voluntary recall today of certain Romaine lettuce products because of the possible connection between the recalled Romaine lettuce and an outbreak of foodborne disease. The outbreak, which is still under investigation, involves cases in Michigan, Ohio and New York of illnesses due to infection with E. coli O145, according to a statement from FDA.

On May 5, the New York state Public Health Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, in Albany reported finding E. coli O145 in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods shredded Romaine lettuce being recalled.

A Freshway Foods press release says the recalled shredded romaine lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, and some in-store salad bars and delis in the following areas: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The recalled shredded Romaine lettuce has a “best if used by” date of May 12 or earlier. The Freshway Foods press release advises restaurants, distributors and retailers to throw out or refrain from using shredded Romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods with these “use by” dates. Additionally, Freshway Foods is advising consumers not to eat “grab and go” salads sold in-store salad bars and delis at Kroger, Giant Eagle, Ingles Markets and Marsh stores.

Shredded romaine lettuce from Freshway Foods with “use by” dates after May 12 are not involved in this voluntary recall. Romaine lettuce and other types of lettuce and leafy greens from other producers are also not affected by this recall.

Multiple lines of evidence have implicated shredded romaine lettuce from one processing facility as a source of infections in a multistate outbreak to which this recall may be related.

To date, 19 confirmed cases of E. coli O145 illnesses have been reported from Michigan, Ohio and New York. These illnesses include 12 individuals who have been hospitalized, and three with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The evidence includes preliminary results of product traceback investigations that indicate:

-The shredded romaine lettuce consumed by ill persons in three states originated from one processing facility.

-Preliminary results of a case-control study in one state that found a statistically significant association between E. coli O145 infection.

-Ingestion of lettuce from the same processing facility; and recovery of E. coli O145 from an unopened package of shredded Romaine lettuce from the same processing facility that was obtained from a foodservice entity associated with the outbreak.

For more information on the outbreak of foodborne illness to which this recall may be related, please see the CDC’s website. FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health officials in Michigan, New York and Ohio continue to investigate that outbreak and will provide updates as more information is available.