The FDA has quietly closed an investigation into a Salmonella outbreak traced to romaine lettuce.
The Food and Drug Administration gave the outbreak and its investigation into it a total of 102 words in its closure notice. It did not name the brand or grower of the implicated romaine lettuce.
“. . . once investigators had enough information to confirm romaine lettuce as the source of this outbreak, the products were past their shelf life and no longer available for sale,” according to the FDA’s outbreak notation.
The agency reported earlier that there were 43 patients confirmed in the outbreak of Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- infections. It did not report the patients’ ages or where they lived.
The FDA also previously reported that it conducted traceback, onsite inspections and sample testing but did not reveal what it traced, what locations were inspected or whether testing involved production environments or finished product. All of the samples were negative for the outbreak strain of Salmonella.
There are likely many more patients in this outbreak than are reflected in the official count. This is because many people do not seek medical attention and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella infection. The CDC estimates for every confirmed patient in a Salmonella outbreak there are 29 who go undetected.
Other outbreak news
For an outbreak of Cyclospora infections that sickened 175 people, the FDA has closed its investigation after determining that illnesses were caused by parsley. The determination was based on patient interviews and product traceback.
The FDA has not revealed the brand or supplier of the implicated parsley, instead merely saying it is no longer for sale. Product testing did not reveal Cyclospora contamination.
For an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7, the FDA, CDC and USDA are confirming the source was chicken wraps. The outbreak sickened 50 people.
None of the agencies officially reported the brand or retailer involved, but the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed to USA Today that Trader Joe’s was the retail chain that sold the wraps.
The investigation into the outbreak is ongoing with the FDA and USDA attempting to determine what specific ingredients in the wraps were contaminated.
There are likely many more patients in this outbreak than are reflected in the official count. This is because many people do not seek medical attention and others are not specifically tested for E. coli infection. The CDC estimates for every confirmed patient in an E. coli outbreak there are 26 who go undetected.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections, the FDA has closed its investigation without finding a cause. The outbreak sickened 119 people but the agency did not report their ages or where they live. The FDA reports that it conducted traceback and sample testing, but is not reporting what food it traced or what it sampled.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Javiana the patient count has increased to 65, up from 59 a week ago. The FDA is not reporting the patients’ ages or where they live. The agency has initiated traceback but has not revealed what food it is tracing.
For an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes, the patient count has increased from 50 to 51 in the past week. The FDA is not reporting the patients’ ages or where they live. The agency has begun traceback, onsite inspections and sample testing but is not revealing what food it is tracing, what locations are being inspected or what kind of samples are being tested.
For an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes, the case count has increased from 11 to 12 in the past week. The FDA has begun traceback, onsite inspections and sample testing but is not revealing what food is being traced, what locations are being inspected or what is being tested.
For an outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg, the FDA has closed its investigation without finding a cause. The outbreak sickened 99 people, but the agency did not report their ages or where they live. The FDA conducted traceback, onsite inspections and sample testing but has not revealed what product it traced, what locations were inspected or what was tested.
The FDA closed investigations into two other outbreaks, both caused by the Cyclospora parasite.
One Cyclospora outbreak entry was created when traceback efforts showed that illnesses were caused by a different source than the outbreak in which they were initially included. The newly described outbreak, not traced to parsley, sickened 66 people. The FDA did not report the patients’ ages or where they lived.
Another Cyclospora outbreak investigation moved to FDA’s closed status list sickened 38 people. The FDA did not report the patients’ ages or where they lived. The agency initiated traceback and testing but did not reveal what food it traced or what was tested.
