Former FDA Deputy Commissioner Addresses E. coli Outbreaks

In the last two years there have been five multistate outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 linked to romaine lettuce. In an Op Ed in the Washington Post, former FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Stephen M. Ostroff discusses the issue and poses some recommendations.  

Noting that the natural reservoir for E. coli is ruminant animals, especially cattle, he states that one particular strain is occurring in the growing regions of central coastal California, returning each fall near the end of the growing season. However, the source of the strain is unclear.  “What is clear is that additional steps must be taken to make romaine safer,” he wrote.

Ostroff then references the recommendations of the Romaine Task Force, which was established by the United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association at the request of FDA following the November 2018 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving romaine.  One of the recommendations in the report was that:

“the romaine industry needs to consider any open water source as potentially contaminated and therefore steps need to be taken to treat the water to prevent potential contaminants from contacting edible plant tissues. The working group also considered the 21-day window that the CA LGMA has adopted; i.e. if an open water source is used to irrigate romaine and contacts the edible tissues of the plant within 21-days of harvest, the water must be treated using a validated process to control any potential pathogens.”

With E. coli O157:H7 found in untreated surface water in both the Yuma and 2018 Thanksgiving outbreaks, Ostroff sees this as one of the most significant recommendations, stating, “The task force recommendations should be immediately adopted and implemented. But even more should be done. Surface water used for romaine irrigation should be treated throughout the growing cycle, not just in the three weeks before harvest. The FDA should also quickly issue agricultural water standards that have been postponed but are required by FSMA’s produce-safety rules.”

Also stated as a concern to be addressed was concentrated animal feeding operations, “where tens of thousands of cattle potentially carrying E. coli O157:H7 are housed, if they are located near leafy green growing areas. Buffers between the cattle operations and growing fields are required, but bigger ones may be needed.”

Read the full article in the Washington Post. Read the Task Force Report at unitedfresh.org.