A dangerous E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce quietly spread across 15 states in November, sickening dozens of people. Victims ranged from a 9-year-old boy in Indiana who nearly suffered kidney failure to a 57-year-old woman in Missouri who got sick after a funeral lunch. One person died.
Despite the severity of the outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never publicly announced who was responsible or released warnings to consumers. The agency closed its investigation in February without identifying the growers or processors involved.
An internal report later revealed the FDA chose not to name any companies because, by the time the source of the contamination was traced, there was no more tainted lettuce left to test. That decision meant no public alerts were ever issued, even though the outbreak had already caused serious illness and a death.
Under Trump’s administration, which has prioritized reducing federal regulation, questions are being raised about whether agencies like the FDA are pulling back on public health communication in favor of protecting industry players.
As of now, the companies behind the outbreak remain unnamed, and many consumers may never know their exposure risk.
