– OPINION –

Well the bad news about outbreaks linked to leafy greens is spilling over from  2021 to 2022. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Outbreaks associated with lettuce, specifically the “pre-washed” and “ready-to-eat” varieties, are by no means a new phenomenon. In fact, the frequency with which this country’s fresh produce consuming public has been hit by outbreaks of pathogenic bacteria is astonishing.

Here is just a sample of outbreaks based on information gathered by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Kansas State University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Date Vehicle Etiology Confirmed
Cases
States/Provinces
July 1995 Lettuce (leafy green; red; romaine) E. coli O157:H7 74 1: MT
Sept. 1995 Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7 20 1: ID
Sept. 1995 Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7 30 1: ME
Oct. 1995 Lettuce (iceberg; unconfirmed) E. coli O157:H7 11 1: OH
May-June 1996 Lettuce (mesclun; red leaf) E. coli O157:H7 61 3: CT, IL, NY
May 1998 Salad E. coli O157:H7 2 1: CA
Feb.-Mar. 1999 Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7 72 1: NE
Oct. 1999 Salad E. coli O157:H7 92 3: OR, PA, OH
Oct. 2000 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 6 1: IN
Nov. 2001 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 20 1: TX
July-Aug. 2002 Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7 29 2: WA, ID
Nov. 2002 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 13 1: Il
Dec. 2002 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 3 1: MN
Oct. 2003-May 2004 Lettuce (mixed salad) E. coli O157:H7 57 1: CA
Apr. 2004 Spinach E. coli O157:H7 16 1: CA
Nov. 2004 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 6 1: NJ
Sept. 2005 Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7 32 3:MN, WI, OR
Sept. 2006 Spinach (baby) E. coli O157:H7 and other serotypes 205 Multistate and Canada
Nov./Dec. 2006 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 71 4: NY, NJ, PA, DE
Nov./Dec. 2006 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 81 3: IA, MN, WI
July 2007 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 26 1: AL
May 2008 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 9 1: WA
Oct. 2008 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 59 Multistate and Canada
Nov. 2008 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 130 Canada
Sept. 2009 Lettuce: Romaine or Iceberg E. coli O157:H7 29 Multistate
Sept. 2009 Lettuce E. coli O157:H7 10 Multistate
April 2010 Romaine E. coli O145 33 5: MI, NY, OH, PA, TN
Oct. 2011 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 60 Multistate
April 2012 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 28

1: CA

Canada

June 2012 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 52 Multistate
Sept. 2012 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 9 1: PA
Oct. 2012 Spinach and Spring Mix Blend E. coli O157:H7 33 Multistate
Apr. 2013 Leafy Greens E. coli O157:H7 14 Multistate
Aug. 2013 Leafy Greens E. coli O157:H7 15 1: PA
Oct. 2013 Ready-To-Eat Salads E. coli O157:H7 33 Multistate
Apr. 2014 Romaine E. coli O126 4 1:MN
Apr. 2015 Leafy Greens E. coli O145 7 3: MD, SC, VA
June 2016 Mesclun Mix E. coli O157:H7 11 3: IL, MI, WI
Jan. 2016 Mixed Greens Listeria 19 Multistate
Nov. 2017 Leafy Greens E. coli O157:H7 67 Multistate and Canada
Mar. 2018 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 240 Multistate and Canada
Oct. 2018 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 62 Multistate and Canada
Nov. 2019 Romaine E. coli O157:H7 171 Multistate and Canada
Nov. 2019 Mixed Greens E. coli O157:H7 38 Multistate and Canada
Dec. 2020 Leafy Greens E. coli O157:H7 40 Multistate
Nov. 2021 Baby Spinach E. coli O157:H7 15 Multistate
Dec. 2021 Mixed Greens E. coli O157:H7 10 Multistate
Dec. 2021 Mixed Greens Listeria 10 Multistate
Dec. 2021 Mixed Greens Listeria 17 Multistate