13 On Your Side Special: Understanding the Outbreak

Romaine lettuce accounts for more than 50 percent of the leafy greens we grow in the desert southwest.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March of 2018, 210 people got sick from an E. Coli outbreak. Of that number, 27 were hospitalized and 5 people died.

This was traced back to irrigation water used on a farm in Yuma, Arizona. Eight months later another E. Coli outbreak occurred also from romaine lettuce contamination. This time, 59 people got sick from 15 different states in the U.S. and Canada. No deaths were reported.

This outbreak tracing back to cooling facilities in Santa Barbara, California.

Due to major safety concerns while investigations were underway, Yuma and Imperial romaine lettuce fields were forced to halt production and throw out all lettuce until the source was confirmed. This lasted for about two weeks.

Weeks later footage emerged of trucks dumping hundreds of cases of lettuce out in the desert.

The sight quite devastating to our community. The desert southwest was not affected much by the romaine recall in March, which stemmed from Yuma, but that’s because they were right at the end of their harvesting season. However, today they are very much impacted by the romaine recall that happened in November, even though it was not traced back to local fields. This is because the demand for romaine lettuce is down and farmers are at the beginning of their harvesting season.

In the desert southwest, the romaine harvest season lasts from November to March. Be sure to watch the video above. Our 13 On Your Side special on “Understanding the Outbreak” breaks down how not only were local farmers affected but the entire agriculture community. Also, what is being done today to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.