Romaine E. Coli Outbreak Leads To New Cauliflower Recall

In what seems to be a never-ending nightmare for salad lovers everywhere, the E. coli outbreak tied to romaine continues — and now it involves two additional lettuces and the hottest vegetable of 2018. (Cauliflower crust, anyone?) According to the Food and Drug Administration, Adams Bros. Farming of Santa Monica, California, is now also recalling red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce and cauliflower because they were grown next to the tainted irrigation pond suspected of poisoning the romaine.

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Produce harvested by Adams Bros. between November 27, 2018, and November 30, 2018 is being recalled due to fears that it too may be contaminated with E. coli O:157:H7. Apart from the romaine, none of these products have actually tested positive for the toxin, but Adams Bros. reportedly "feels a strong commitment to its customers and has worked for years to provide a safe and healthy food supply," so the additional produce is being voluntarily recalled as a precaution. As of December 13, the supplier has notified its customers, asking that the affected products not be eaten, sold or transferred.

The cauliflower affected by this recall was distributed to wholesalers in Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, plus Tijuana, Mexico, and parts of Canada. Red and green leaf lettuce was sent to California, Colorado, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington and Canada. Red leaf lettuce only was distributed to Minnesota and Tijuana. To see a full list of carton and pallet tag numbers, follow this link.

To date, the E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara, California, has sickened 59 people in 15 states. Twenty-three have been hospitalized, two of whom have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. Looks like one of the biggest food recalls of the year just keeps getting bigger.