An ongoing E. coli outbreak has led to the removal of romaine lettuce from store shelves.
At the recommendation of the CDC and FDA, Festival Foods has removed all romaine lettuce products and advises guests not to consume any. “Our mission is to not only offer safe, quality products– but also to keep our guests safe,” said Stephanie Teclaw, Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs Manager. “The measures we take responding and monitoring recalls is a core part of one of our five values, service.”
The store monitors food recalls through the FDA, USDA, CDC along with its vendor partners, suppliers, and other industry organizations of which they are a part. Besides recalls, Festival Foods monitors consumer advisories and any industry or trending health issues.
“We have our own set of standards that closely follow FDA’s recall procedure & response guidance. Our internal standards have a quicker response time than those set forth by FDA,” said Teclaw. ” We take the safety of our guests and products very seriously, and recall response time is an area our store and support teams are excellent at.”
As of yesterday, the CDC reports that thirty-two people have become infected in 11 states, including Wisconsin. The outbreak has not yet been traced to a specific grower.
Consumers are advised to throw away any romaine lettuce they have, even if nobody has become sick.
