The FDA has announced a multi-state recall of romaine lettuce after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak sickened 42 people across 8 states. The contaminated lettuce has been traced to a growing region in the Salinas Valley of California.
Affected products include whole heads and chopped romaine lettuce with harvest dates between March 25 and April 8, 2026, distributed by Fresh Express and Dole. Ten people have been hospitalized, including three with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney complication.
Consumers are advised to discard any romaine lettuce if they cannot confirm it was not sourced from the Salinas Valley during the affected period. Restaurants and grocery stores in affected states have pulled romaine from shelves and menus as a precaution.
The outbreak follows a familiar pattern — Salinas Valley romaine has been linked to multiple E. coli outbreaks over the past decade, raising questions about systemic contamination risks in the region. Cattle operations adjacent to lettuce fields have been identified as a likely source of pathogen transfer.
The Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, an industry self-regulatory program, has dispatched investigators to affected farms. The FDA is also conducting its own traceback investigation using whole genome sequencing to definitively link clinical cases to specific lots.
