By: Candess Zona-Mendola of MakeFoodSafe

The CDC just announced a multistate E. coli outbreak with an unknown source. However, both of the Wisconsin and Maryland E. coli outbreaks appear to be connected with it. According to the CDC’s announcement:

E. coli/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 infectionsThis investigation includes illnesses recently reported by the Maryland Department of Health and Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 

While Ready Pac Foods Bistro® Chicken Caesar Salads have been implicated in Maryland, they are not considered the source here. In other states, those with E. coli illnesses did not report eating that particular food item. But there is a possibility romaine may be the culprit. According to the announcement, “FDA is tracing back the supply of the romaine lettuce in the salad and has identified possible farms in Salinas, California. Preliminary information indicates that romaine lettuce used in the product that tested positive was harvested in mid-October and is no longer within current expiration dates.”

In the meantime, the CDC recommends that consumers avoid Ready Pac Foods Bistro® Chicken Caesar Salads with a “Best By” date of October 31, 2019.