E. Coli Source Found; Salads Safe Again

The E. Coli outbreak is over, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named infected Romaine lettuce as the culprit.

The lettuce, which came from a single, unidentified farm, was contaminated before arriving at nine Schnucks grocery stores, sickening 37 people in Missouri. The Food and Drug Administration did not find the E. Coli strain at the farm—which they refused to identify without definitive proof of infection—but the farm has since shut down operations, according to food industry news site The Packer.

The news that Romaine was the source seemed confusing as the CDC had previously announced  for E. Coli. However, statistical analysis shows those who reported E. Coli symptoms were "significantly more likely" than well persons to report eating Romaine lettuce, according to the CDC.

A St. Louis County woman has sued Schnucks after her E. Coli infection caused kidney failure, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Mary Kozlowski, who ate at a Schnucks salad bar three times during the period of contamination, spent 11 days in and out of Mercy Hospital's intensive care unit with kidney failure, a blood clot in her lung and atrial fibrillation, the Post-Dispatch reported. Her kidney damage is permanent.

The threat of infection appears to be over, and the CDC said residents do not need to avoid lettuce.

Overall, the outbreak infected 60 people in 10 states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.