Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Linked To Lettuce Found in 15 States — But FDA Hasn’t Publicized It. Photo:

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• Public health and other experts are criticizing the Food and Drug Administration for how it handled a widespread E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce
• Dozens of people were hospitalized and one person died over the course of four months
• Now, nine lawsuits have been filed against one produce company as families allege their lettuce caused the outbreak — but the company denies the claims, and the FDA has not said where the outbreak came from

An E. coli outbreak that was linked to romaine lettuce spread to 15 states in the last four months left dozens of people ill and one person dead — but according to an internal report from the Food and Drug Administration, the general public was not informed about the contaminated food.

According to a new report from NBC News, published on Thursday, April 17, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not publicize information about the E. coli outbreak and infections, despite months of investigation.

The outlet reported that 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.

The FDA White Oak Campus in Maryland. Getty Images

An internal FDA report obtained by the outlet said 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.

“There were no public communications related to this outbreak,” the FDA wrote in its report.

The FDA is not required to share information about all foodborne illnesses it investigates — if there are reasons not to share, if the agency is still working with the company responsible to control the outbreak or if the cause is still unknown, per NBC.

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According to the Cleveland Clinic, E. coli is a group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gut, urinary tract and other parts of the body. Although it’s not dangerous most of the time, some strains come with side effects of watery diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

Dr. Amanda Brzozowski, a senior epidemiologist for St. Louis County, was the first to spot multiple cases of a dangerous strain of E. coli in area hospitals in early November.

According to the public health specialist, several high school students who lived in the same area had contracted the infection — and were suffering severe side effects.

“It was really scary,” Brzozowski told NBC News. “This type of situation we’ve never seen before.”

Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Escherichia coli bacteria. Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

The St. Louis County Public Health Department eventually determined that at least found 115 casesthat were either confirmed or probable E. coli infections — part of a particularly dangerous strain called E. coli 0157:H7 — were linked to food served by a local catering company.

Nine total lawsuits are now alleging that the victims were infected by produce from Taylor Farms, a California-based company that serves as one of the country’s largest producers of fresh salads and vegetables.

In a statement given to NBC, Taylor Farms denied that its products were related to the E. coli outbreak.

“We don’t believe Taylor Farms was the source of the referenced recent E. coli outbreaks, based on information collected during thorough third-party investigations and robust food safety controls,” the company said.

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially said that the outbreak had ended, per NBC, and the investigation was changed from active to closed in February. The full details about the outbreak came out after attorneys requested public records when the lawsuits were filed.

The FDA denied that its response to this outbreak was out of the ordinary, per NBC.

“The FDA names firms when there is enough evidence linking an outbreak to a firm and there is actionable advice for consumers, as long as naming the firm is not legally prohibited,” a spokesperson told the outlet in a statement. “By the time investigators had confirmed the likely source, the outbreak had already ended and there was no actionable advice for consumers.” 

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