MSU removed iceberg lettuce from its residence halls Friday, after the Michigan Department of Community Health announced that bagged lettuce from a Detroit-based produce distributor was the probable source of the statewide E. coli outbreak.
Aunt Mid’s Produce Co., a nationwide vendor, was identified as a distributor of the lettuce that has affected 26 people in Michigan, as well as several people in New York, Ohio, Illinois and Oregon.
“That pretty much nailed the fact that it was a national distributor,” MSU’s University Physician Beth Alexander said of the cases in other states. “There can be many distributors of one farm. If you trace it back to where the product is produced they might sell to several distributors.”
Aunt Mid’s released a statement Friday pledging its full cooperation with the state’s investigation.
“(Aunt Mid’s) has already voluntarily initiated testing procedures by an independent laboratory,” the statement said. “In the meantime, Aunt Mid’s is voluntarily suspending any processing and sale of its iceberg lettuce product line.”
MSU cafeterias will continue to provide other types of lettuce. Alexander didn’t know when iceberg lettuce would return to the menus.
The state was able to determine the cause by connecting lettuce supplies from MSU, the Lenawee County Jail and a restaurant in Illinois, said James McCurtis, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health.
“So far, it points to Aunt Mid’s,” he said. “As we progress, there might be other vendors.”
After learning that the state suspected lettuce as the cause of the outbreak, Alexander said MSU’s iceberg lettuce was removed from dining halls within 15 minutes.
She said lettuce would be a likely culprit for an E. coli outbreak.
“I don’t think there’s much question about it being lettuce,” Alexander said. “Fresh produce and ground beef are the two most common sources.”
Alexander said MSU students living in East Complex — which includes Akers, McDonel, Hubbard, Holmes and Van Hoosen halls — helped the state’s investigation by answering a food consumption survey that was sent out Thursday night.
“We had 400 responses within 12 hours,” she said. “It really helped the state figure it out. I was amazed that on a Thursday night to have that many (responses) that quickly.”
Although the student survey helped yield an answer to the outbreak, chemistry sophomore Jasmine Lyons was unsure of the idea.
“There’s a lot of variables that might not be the same around the state,” Lyons said. “There’s a lot of things that could play factors here that might not have anything to do with anything else. I guess it worked out.”
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