Santa Maria farm tied to romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak
A Santa Maria farm has been tied to the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak that left 59 people sick across the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Adam Bros. Family Farms, was one of eight farms on the Central Coast the organization is investigating in regards to the outbreak.
In a news release on Thursday, the CDC said it found the outbreak strain of E. Coli in an agricultural water reservoir at Adam Bros. Family Farms. Whole genome sequencing showed that the strain found in the reservoir was “closely related genetically to the E. coli ... isolated from ill people.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating how the E. coli bacteria could have entered the reservoir and contaminated the farm’s lettuce.
Romaine lettuce from Adam Bros. Family Farms is no longer available for sale, according to the release.
Since it was reported in November, 59 people have fallen ill as part of the outbreak — and 23 of those have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
The FDA is still advising people to not buy or eat romaine lettuce from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara counties.
Romaine from Santa Cruz, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties can re-enter the marketplace as long as it was harvested after Nov. 23.
This story was originally published December 13, 2018 at 2:39 PM.
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