California Could Be Source Of Tainted Romaine Lettuce, FDA Says
(CBS NEWS) - The FDA is looking at California as a potential source of romaine lettuce tainted with a potentially deadly strain E. coli. Health officials said romaine lettuce should be removed from all supermarket shelves and restaurant menus until they can determine the source of the new outbreak. But, as Anna Werner reports, tracking down the source of the contaminated produce is quite difficult.
The potentially deadly strain of the bacteria has sickened 32 people in 11 states since October. Nearly a third of the cases are in Los Angeles County.
Scott Horsfall, the CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, said most of the romaine on the market when the outbreak began was grown in his state.
"Given the harvest cycle at that time, I think there's a good possibility that it came from California, yes," Horsfall said.