Staff Reports
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam on Tuesday said federal authorities have cleared Florida-grown romaine lettuce.
An ongoing investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into the multi-state E. coli outbreak determined that the implicated romaine comes from California, he said.
“Americans deserve a safe, nutritious and abundant food supply, and I’m alarmed to hear that dozens of people have been sickened with this food-borne illness,” Putnam said in a statement.
“While the federal investigation is ongoing, I’m encouraged that Florida-grown romaine lettuce is not linked to the outbreak and has been cleared to re-enter the marketplace.”
Growing and harvesting of romaine lettuce “is now shifting to the winter growing regions of the U.S., which include(s) Florida,” the FDA said.
On Nov. 20, the CDC advised the public not to eat any romaine lettuce and, at the same time, the FDA requested that all romaine lettuce in the marketplace be removed.
The following day, Putnam spoke with FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and “advocated for the reintroduction of Florida romaine into the market, given the timing of Florida’s harvest and the advanced production methods used in Florida, and followed up with a letter.”
The outbreak linked to romaine lettuce sickened 43 people in 12 states, according to CNN, with people falling ill in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.
