December 18, 2020 – Two of three outbreaks potentially linked to romaine lettuce are now officially over.

Brief:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control, in collaboration with state and local partners, have completed the investigation on two of three multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections in the U.S. this fall. Not enough information was available for investigators to identify the food associated with these outbreaks.

Investigations of a third E. coli outbreak continue.

What Consumers Should Do

Advice from public health officials to consumers is to follow these general ways to prevent getting sick from E. coli:

• Wash your hands after using the restroom or changing diapers, before and after preparing or eating food, and after contact with animals.
• Cook meats thoroughly. Use a food thermometer to check that the meat has reached a safe internal temperature.
• Don’t cross-contaminate food preparation areas. Thoroughly wash hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils after touching raw meat.
• Wash fruits and vegetables before eating, unless the package says the contents have been washed.
• Avoid raw milk, other unpasteurized dairy products, and unpasteurized juices.

What Health Officials are Saying:

Below are links to official announcements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:

Outbreak #1 – CDC declared this outbreak over December 18, 2020

Outbreak #2 – this outbreak is considered ongoing

Outbreak #3 – CDC has declared this outbreak over December 18, 2020

Below is a link to the official announcement from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration:

Outbreak Investigation of E. coli O157:H7: Unknown Food (Fall 2020):  FDA announces completion of two E. coli outbreak investigations.