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Recall Advisory: Romaine Lettuce

May 7, 2010

Please be advised that there is a recall of Romaine lettuce with an epidemiological correlation to illness in several states and the finding of E. coli O157:H7 in an unopened bag of Freshway Foods shredded Romaine lettuce. According to the firm, the lettuce was sold to wholesalers, foodservice and some in-store salad bars and delis in the following states:

• 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
• Wisconsin

Presently, illnesses have been reported only in Michigan, Ohio and New York. We do not know the actual source of the lettuce, however at this juncture, if you have any lettuce from Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, please immediately take it off any type of service, destroy it and any food contact surface needs to be thoroughly sanitized.

In addition EpiHealth has been recommending to all its clients to wash all raw fruits and vegetables regardless of whether or not the label states that it is single-, double-, or triple-washed and ready for use with an appropriate agent which can be commercially obtained and significant agitation following those label instructions.

We will update as necessary, however this is of utmost import as there are significant morbidity associated with this recall and outbreak. Attached please find the links to the FDA, CDC and Freshway Foods press releases.

• FDA: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm211145.htm
• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2010/ecoli_o145/index.html
• Freshway Foods: http://www.freshwayfoods.com/recall/

Contact EpiHealth Associates today for more information about how we can assist your company.