UofA scientists to study Yuma lettuce outbreak
(FOX 10 Phoenix)
YUMA, Ariz. - University of Arizona scientists are embarking on a multi-year study of the Yuma region in the wake of last year's E. coli outbreak.
The group will be partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, state agriculture officials and local growers to look at the environment and practices in the nation's "winter vegetable capital."
The University of Arizona announced the effort in a release.
Researchers with the UofA Cooperative Extension hope to come away with recommendations for growers. They will collect samples of water, sediment and animal fecal matter.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a 2018 outbreak linked to romaine lettuce was responsible for five deaths and the sickening of 200 others.
The lettuce was traced to Yuma.
Investigators say the bacteria spread through tainted irrigation water.