According to NBC News, the outbreak linked to E. coli 0157:H7 in romaine lettuce killed one person and sickened at least 88 more. Nine families are suing the California-based produce company. According to NBC News, the FDA did not publicize information about the E. coli outbreak despite months of investigation. The outbreak began in St. Louis County in Missouri in early November 2024, and the FDA officially closed its investigation in February without disclosing what had happened or sharing which companies had produced the infected lettuce. An internal FDA report claimed that it did not name companies because there was no infected lettuce left by the time investigators learned where the E. coli was coming from. The report also noted that there was one death but did not share information about it. “It is disturbing that the FDA hasn’t said anything more public or identified the name of a grower or processor,” said Yiannas, who was at the FDA from 2018 to 2023. Using genetic analysis, the investigators concluded that based on epidemiologic and traceback data, romaine lettuce was confirmed as the source of this outbreak. The victims have all accused Taylor Farms in nine different lawsuits, arguing in court papers that it sold “defective and unreasonably dangerous” food products. Taylor Farms denied that any of its products were responsible for the outbreak. The accusations against Taylor Farms come on the heels of another deadly outbreak: In October, Taylor Farms had recalled onions contaminated with E. coli sold at McDonalds. @ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ecoli-bacteria-lettuce-outbreak-rcna200236
