Hong Kong – Food Alert Not to consume romaine lettuce from the US, Canada and unknown sources – E.coli

Issue Date	22.11.2018
Source of Information	Centre for Food Safety
Food Product	Romaine lettuce
Product Name and Description	All romaine lettuce imported from the US and Canada
Reason For Issuing Alert	The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, through its routine Food Incident Surveillance System, learnt on November 21 that there were reports in the United States (US) and Canada about outbreaks of Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection that might be linked to the consumption of romaine lettuce contaminated with E. coli.
Action Taken by the Centre for Food Safety	The CFS immediately contacted the US and Canadian authorities for more information (including about the place of origin of the affected romaine lettuce). The Centre also, starting from November 21, held all romaine lettuce imported from the US and Canada for testing at the import level, which will only be released to the market upon satisfactory test results. The CFS has also enhanced surveillance of romaine lettuce from the two countries at retail level. The CFS will continue to closely monitor the latest developments of the incident in the US and Canada and take appropriate follow-up action.
Advice to the Trade	Retailers have voluntarily removed the product concerned from shelves.
Advice to Consumers	For the sake of prudence, the CFS urges the public not to consume romaine lettuce from the US, Canada and unknown sources.
Further Information	The CFS press release