Canadians cautioned amidst U.S. romaine lettuce recall

CANADA – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is advising citizens not to distribute, import, sell, serve, or use romaine lettuce, including products containing romaine lettuce, harvested in the Salinas growing region of California amidst a U.S. recall and E. Coli contamination.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) stated on Friday, Nov. 22 that one Canadian illness, with a similar genetic fingerprint to illnesses reported in the U.S. investigation, has been identified. As of Wednesday, Nov. 27, 67 individuals have been infected by the illness across 19 states.

This is the fourth E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce that could affect Canadian consumers in the last two years.

The CFIA has confirmed that romaine lettuce from the affected areas is imported to Canada at this time of year. As a result of the outbreak, new actions at the border have been implemented to ensure that affected products are no longer being imported.

The Government of Canada initially released a cautionary statement on the matter to Canadians last week on Friday, Nov. 22. The informative statement can be viewed here.