E. Coli Outbreak in Romaine Lettuce

The recent E. coli outbreak in Romaine Lettuce has forced many restaurants, grocery stores, and households to pull the popular produce off the shelves. A recent discovery found that farmers harvesting the lettuce in the Central Coastal regions in northern and central California were responsible for the outbreak. Not only was the United States affected by this outbreak, but Canada was also. This outbreak likely happened due to the common harvesting patterns farmers in California had been used in order to help the lettuce grow. The contamination was discovered just before Thanksgiving as family members were purchasing entrees, sides, and desserts for the American holiday (Fox, 2018). So far, 43 people have been infected with E. coli in the United States, and one person has suffered from kidney failure (“Map of Reported Cases”, 2018).

The public has responded by removing romaine lettuce from menus, stores, and homes. With the supply of romaine lettuce was so low, the price of iceberg lettuce, and other lettuce increased up to 168% in the United States (Haigh, 2018). People still went out and continued to buy iceberg lettuce in order to prepare for holiday festivities. The CDC released an alert for those who have romaine lettuce from California to throw it away, or if they could not locate the origin to dispose of it anyways. Popular fast food chains such as Chick-Fil-A have posted their removal of the lettuce on their social media pages and within their restaurants (Gore, 2018). Local news stations have covered the outbreak which has lead to even more consumers getting rid of romaine lettuce completely and then focus on restocking the vegetable. Businesses and smaller organizations replaced their loss of romaine lettuce with iceberg lettuce, leaving the California farmers having to regain the trust of their once loyal consumers (Scipioni, 2018).

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Analysis of Impact on the Organization

In addition to the outbreak concerning romaine lettuce, similar epidemics have occurred with other various food sources. The most recent to date occurred back on September 19, 2018 when Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, Colorado issued a recall on its ground beef products (“E.coli”, 2018). The products packaged were shipped nationwide and labeled with and establishment number that would later be used to identify whether it was contaminated or not. According to the CDC, four states reported a total of 18 people who had been infected with E. coli with illness dates starting from July 5, 2018 to July 25 of the same year. Six of the 18 people were hospitalized, one reportedly developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is described as a type of kidney failure, and one person located in the state of Florida died (“E.coli”, 2018).

Similarly, in 2015, Mexican-style restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill experienced two outbreaks of E. Coli within a span of a year, one larger epidemic and small outbreak that followed (“Multistate Outbreaks”, 2016). The larger began on December 1, 2015 when reports of E. coli strains became prominent in the Washington and Oregon areas. Interviews conducted led public health officials to believe that the source was a food restaurant all infected persons had recently dined at. As stated by the CDC, the larger epidemic infected a total of 55 people from 11 states, while the second, smaller outbreak infected only five (“Multistate Outbreaks”, 2016). No deaths were reported in either case.

As for key players who have been affected, which we assume are mainly businesses, have had an unexpected boost in sales. For example, USA Today claims that fast-food businesses are unlikely to be affected following the recall of romaine lettuce, stating that businesses will likely just replace the leafy green with an alternative (Meyer, 2018). A recent press statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, called for the public to dispose and destroy romaine lettuce in their homes, and the steps to take to prevent the consumption of the lettuce (Office of the Commissioner, 2018). ABC news puts the spotlight on a farm in St. Pete’s Warehouse Arts District that can guarantee “worry-free” romaine lettuce, stating that their produce is cultivated inside hydroponic shipping containers where the chance of E. coli growing is impossible (Hollenbeck, 2018).

The people who are impacted by this E.coli outbreak are those who consume romaine lettuce regularly. Thanks to a quick social media response, people have pulled the lettuce off of the shelves and disposing of it properly (Lupo, 2018). Zlati Meyer of USA Today even reported that those who ate just a few greens, have now found an excuse to avoid greens altogether (Meyer, 2018). Since the outbreak of romaine lettuce in mid November, the prices of iceberg lettuce have begun to rise. The prices have been reported to have increased in over 100% in the past month since the outbreak first occur (Haigh, 2018). Causing customers to pay way more than usual for their iceberg lettuce. In addition to those who became sick from consuming the contaminated lettuce. Those also impacted include businesses who produce romaine lettuce. As well as commercial businesses such as, restaurants and stores, who sell and use romaine lettuce regularly. Although it is reported that fast-food restaurants won’t be experiencing that much of an impact from the outbreak. Saying that restaurants will still gain business and that people will just avoid menu items involving lettuce (Meyer, 2018).

The recent E.coli outbreak of romaine lettuce began to generate news because of the rapid growth of people becoming ill in the United States from the outbreak. When the outbreak was first identified as a problem, 32 people were reported ill from the bacteria as of November 19, 2018 according to the CDC. Then as of November 26, 2018 the outbreak had increased to 43 reported illnesses (“E.coli”, 2018). Which was reported across 11 states in the country. The FDA also made a statement releasing that Canada has also been affected by the E.coli outbreak. Canadian health officials reported that only 22 people had been reported ill (“Office of the Commissioner”, 2018).

What will most likely happen in the future to prevent from more outbreaks, farmers will have to change the way that they harvest their crops. Causing stricter guidelines from the FDA to ensure healthy crops. They will also have to regain trust from those who consume their crops such as vendors, households, and businesses. Eventually, they will regain their trust back from consumers because people will only continue to buy the more expensive iceberg lettuce for so much longer. People will continue to go out and eat they may just choose to stay away from salads until the outbreak eventually dies down and they forget about it (Meyer, 2018).

PR Tie

As a business, losing the public’s trust is something that can occur within a matter of minutes, but to be able to gain their trust back is something that takes more time and work, and may not even work in the end when all is said and done. With the E.coli outbreak in romaine lettuce, for the people who became sick, and for those who bought the contaminated lettuce from the farms, it is difficult to gain back their trust. For restaurant owners, the relationship between the two is strained because the sales will drop as a result of contamination. From the farmers who who sold the contaminated produce to their customers, need to be open with their patrons and attempt to mend the customer relations that has taken a hit with this outbreak.

If you were to have a bag of M&M’s but you find out that 5 of the candies in the bag are contaminated, but the rest are clean, would you eat the candy or be safe and throw the bag away? Most would throw the bag away, as it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to taking risks. This is how restaurants have reacted with the E.coli outbreak, as many of them who even have a slim chance of having contaminated lettuce have taken all the product out of their place of business and stopped selling the product till they can be sure that it is safe to sell it again (“Office of the Commissioner”, 2018). These places taking the lettuce away also has to do with the warnings from the FDA and the CDC, who have said that the romaine lettuce they have should be thrown away immediately to take extreme caution, as the outbreak has already affected nearly 50 people. This drastic overhaul of the lettuce is what crisis management looks like, as they are pulling out all the stops in order to ensure that no other people get the bacteria (“E.coli”, 2018).

Group Opinion

The families, and businesses have handled the E. coli outbreak well. With up to date news coverage, they have been aware of what to look for and to dispose of their romaine lettuce. The farmers who were responsible for the outbreak have also had to pull their produce from whom they were supplying it to.

The farmers could have prepared for an event like this with better harvesting patterns. The problems with the end of season harvest from lettuce that was grown in the summer must be fixed (Office of the Commissioner, 2018). They need to remove that aspect of their harvesting process out in order to prevent another potential outbreak of E. coli. Grocery stores could also let those know about the removal of romaine lettuce from their store due to the outbreak.

Some suggestions we have in order to make the key players prepare for the future is to always check the labels on their produce. Also, staying up to date with updates from the CDC and the FDA will be important to reduce consumption of future contaminations. For the grocery stores and other businesses, they have to make sure that the farmers they are purchasing produce from have sanitary and proper harvesting patterns in order to prevent another E.coli outbreak from happening once again, or possibly enforce more strict routine inspections of the facilities where these greens are produced.

Sources

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6. Haigh, M. (2018, November 29). Iceberg lettuce prices soar as much as 168% after E. coli outbreak takes romaine off shelves. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/29/lettuce-prices-soar-amid-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-romaine.html
7. Hollenbeck, S. (2018, November 29). Sales boost at St. Pete farm with 'worry free' romaine lettuce. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-south-pinellas/st-petersburg/sales-boost-at-st-pete-farm-with-worry-free-romaine-lettuce
8. Lupo, L. (2018, November 26). Social Media Spread of Romaine Lettuce Ban Gets the Word Out. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/social-media-spread-of-romaine-lettuce-ban-gets-the-word-out-/
9. Meyer, Z. (2018, November 29). Fast-food biz's bottom line likely unaffected by E. coli romaine lettuce outbreak: Experts. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/29/fast-food-biz-likely-unaffected-e-coli-romaine-outbreak-experts/2130565002/
10. Meyer, Z. (2018, November 22). Romaine lettuce: Why it's hard to keep it safe from E. coli and other bacteria. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/22/romaine-e-coli-outbreak-tracking-source-harder-than-you-think/2087905002/
11. Multistate Outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 Infections Linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants (Final Update). (2016, February 01). Retrieved December 5, 2018, from https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2015/o26-11-15/index.html
12. Office of the Commissioner. (2018, November 26). Press Announcements - Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on the current romaine lettuce E. coliO157:H7 outbreak investigation. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm626716.htm
13. Scipioni, J. (2018, November 30). The real winner from the romaine E.coli outbreak: Iceberg lettuce. Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/the-real-winner-from-the-romaine-e-coli-outbreak-iceberg-lettuce