E. forces coli lettuce recall, 19 patients in 3 states

E. forces coli lettuce recall, 19 patients in 3 states: -
A food company is recalling salad sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia as a result of an E. coli outbreak sick at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening symptoms.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that 12 people were in the hospital and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was looking at 10 other cases probably related to the outbreak.

Freshway Foods in Sidney, Ohio, said the romaine lettuce sold under the brands Sysco Imperial Freshway and due to a possible relationship to E. Recalling coli outbreak.

College students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Ohio State in Columbus and Daemen College in Amherst, NY, are among those involved, according to local health departments in those countries.

The FDA's investigation focused on lettuce grown in Arizona as a possible source of the outbreak, according to two people who were briefed by the agency. Donna Rosenbaum, director of food safety advocacy group Safe Tables Our Priority, and one of those briefed, said the agency has a telephone conversation with public health advocates Thursday.

Rosenbaum and other public health advocates have been calling for a stronger food safety laws. The House a bill last year that the agency would give more authority to the production of food police, but the Senate has not acted on.

New York State Public Health Laboratory in Albany discovered the infection in a bag of shredded romaine lettuce Freshway Foods on Wednesday after local authorities had been investigating the outbreak for several weeks. Turn the bag came from a processing plant, which also was attached to the disease, the FDA said. The agency would not disclose the name of the facility or its location, but said an investigation is under way.

E. coli infection can cause mild diarrhea or more serious complications, including kidney damage. The three patients with life-threatening symptoms were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause bleeding in the brains or kidneys.

It was not immediately clear why students at universities were ill. Freshway Foods said the lettuce was sold to wholesalers, food service outlets, in-store salad bars and delis.

Susan Cerniglia, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health in Washtenaw County, which is the University of Michigan, said it was not clear that students who were sick ate the contaminated food on campus. It is believed that they could be sick at local restaurants, she said. The majority of this nauseous lived in Ann Arbor and off campus.

The Erie County, NY, health department issued a warning late last month that at least one diagnosis of E. coli linked to a student who ate at an eatery Daemen College. The alert said twelve students was sick after eating at the school and three students were hospitalized.

Kevin Montgomery of the Erie Department of Health said Thursday that one case of E. coli was confirmed at Daemen College and another was suspected. All students have been recovered, he said.

The most common strain of E. coli found in American patients, E. coli O157. The CDC said the strain associated with the lettuce, E. coli 0145, is harder to identify and may go unreported.

Freshway Foods said in a statement Thursday that the FDA informed the company about the positive test in New York on Wednesday afternoon. The statement said: "FDA a comprehensive review" of the device Freshway Foods in Sidney has not detected contamination in the factory.

The recalled lettuce has a "best if used by" date of May 12 or earlier. The recall also affects "Grab and Go" salads sold Kroger, Giant Eagle, Marsh and Ingles Markets grocery stores.

The lettuce was sold in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.