LOS ANGELES, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A California-based food company on Thursday announced a voluntary recall of romaine lettuce salad products suspected of being tainted with E. Coli O157:H7.
Fresh Express said the recall covers products that have use-by dates of July 8, July 9, July 10, July 11 and July 12, and have an "S" in the product code.
The company said it ordered the recall after a random test by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detected E. coli O157:H7 in one package of Fresh Express Hearts of Romaine lettuce salad.
The products were distributed in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Washington and Nevada.
No illnesses have been reported in association with the recall, the company said, while urging customers with the products to discard them.
In May, Fresh Express recalled romaine ready-to-eat salads due to possible salmonella contamination.
E. coli O157:H7 is a bacterium that can cause serious foodborne illness in a person who eats a food item contaminated with it. Symptoms of infection may include severe and often bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Often, little or no fever is present.
Most healthy adults recover within a week. Young children and the elderly are at higher risk for developing Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) as a result of the infection. HUS can lead to serious kidney damage and death.
