The Food and Drug Administration kept quiet about a deadly E. coli outbreak that ripped through 15 states last November. According to a new NBC report, the federal agency chose not to publicly disclose the outbreak linked to romaine lettuce that left one dead and dozens of other people sick.
FDA kept quiet about deadly E. coli outbreak that hit 15 states last November
The outbreak, which began in Missouri’s St. Louis County in early November 2024, was linked to the hospitalisation of a 9-year-old Indiana boy, who nearly died of kidney failure and a 57-year-old Missouri woman who fell sick after attending a funeral lunch, per the outlet.
Despite multiple illnesses, the FDA officially closed its investigation in February without revealing any details about who produced the infected lettuce. “There were no public communications related to this outbreak,” the agency said in an internal report obtained by the outlet.
It added that the produce company “was not named during this outbreak because there was no product remaining in commerce.” Dr. Amanda Brzozowski, a senior epidemiologist for St. Louis County, was one of the first to oversee multiple cases of the E. coli 0157:H7, a dangerous and potentially fatal strain of the bacteria.
“It was really scary,” said Brzozowski, who found that three high school students sickened by the deadly bacteria lived in the same area of the county. After she reached out to the schools they attended, more people reported E. coli infection symptoms like bloody diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
The Public Health Department eventually found 115 confirmed or probable E. coli cases linked to food served by a local catering company, with salads being suspected as the culprit. “This type of situation we’ve never seen before,” Brzozowski added.
After the pathogen’s genomic fingerprint was posted to a national laboratory network for tracking foodborne illnesses, 89 cases were found to be linked to the outbreak, with the youngest being a four-year-old and the oldest, 90. Public health and food safety advocates are now questioning the FDA’s decision to keep the outbreak a secret.
However, a spokesperson for the agency told the outlet, “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,” adding, “By the time investigators had confirmed the likely source, the outbreak had already ended and there was no actionable advice for consumers.”
