FDA constantly takes steps to monitor E. coli O104 outbreak in U.S. food supply

The U.S. FDA has been in routine contact with the European Union and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor the current outbreak of E. coli O104 and to track any illnesses in the U.S. that may be related to the outbreak.

At this time, the Robert Koch Institute, the disease control and prevention public health agency of Germany, has not yet identified the definitive source of the infectious agent causing the outbreak, but has recommended that consumers in Germany avoid raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

To date, FDA believes that this outbreak has not affected the U.S. food supply. The FDA is constantly vigilant and consistently takes steps to increase monitoring, as appropriate, in situations such as this, to protect the U.S. food supply.

The U.S. receives relatively little fresh produce from the EU, particularly at this time of year. Due to the short shelf life of most fresh produce and the availability of growing areas in the U.S. and Central America, the EU is not a significant source of fresh produce for this country.

In response to the outbreak in Europe, as a safety precaution, FDA established certain additional import controls. FDA is currently conducting increased surveillance of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and raw salads from areas of concern.

"When these products are presented for import, we will sample them, and we will analyze them," said Dara Corrigan, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, who is responsible for U.S. FDA border activities. "The FDA will not allow any products found to be contaminated to enter the U.S., and, if contamination is found, will flag future shipments for appropriate action. As more information about the source of the outbreak emerges, we will adjust our public health protection efforts, especially those at the border, accordingly."

"Food growers, manufacturers and distributors are responsible for marketing safe food and taking any steps necessary to ensure that their products are indeed safe," said Donald Kraemer, deputy director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "The FDA has provided scientific guidance to the produce industry on ways to minimize the risk of E. coli, and these methods will reduce the risk of the strain of E. coli causing the European outbreak as well as the more common strains."