The public was never warned about a deadly E. coli outbreak from lettuce that hit 15 states, lawsuits say
ST. LOUIS (Gray News) – New federal lawsuits filed last week against a farm in California allege that the federal government kept the public in the dark about an E. coli outbreak from Romaine lettuce.
According to a news release Thursday, the November 2024 outbreak sickened 89 people in 15 states, including 36 hospitalizations (seven of which had kidney failure) and one death.
The E. coli outbreak had confirmed cases in the following states:
- Arkansas (2 cases)
- Colorado (1 case)
- Illinois (7 cases)
- Indiana (8 cases)
- Kansas (1 case)
- Kentucky (1 case)
- Missouri (50 cases)
- Montana (1 case)
- North Dakota (2 cases)
- Nebraska (3 cases)
- Ohio (8 cases)
- Pennsylvania (1 case)
- South Dakota (1 case)
- Tennessee (1 case)
- Wisconsin (2 cases)
“Since the start of the Trump Administration, the CDC and FDA have withheld from the public details about a Romaine Lettuce E. coli outbreak,” the news release reads.
The lawsuits, filed by law firm Marler Clark, allege the source of the E. coli was Romaine lettuce from Taylor Farms in California. Taylor Farms, however, denies those claims.
In a statement to KMOV, Taylor Farms said they are considering legal action to defend themselves against the claims.
“Taylor Farms product WAS NOT the source of the referenced 2024 E. Coli outbreak. We perform extensive raw and finished product testing on all our product and there was no evidence of contamination. Any reporting that connects Taylor Farms products to these heartbreaking illnesses is dangerous, irresponsible and unfair to the impacted families.”
Attorney Bill Marler, who represents several victims who were sickened from the outbreak, said the federal government could easily clear up this dispute.
However, neither the CDC nor the FDA has publicly named the source of the outbreak.
In an internal memo dated Feb. 11, the federal government confirmed the outbreak was linked to 89 cases across 15 states and connected the cases to romaine lettuce from a specific grower. But the name of the grower was redacted in the report, and the investigation was closed.
Marler said redacting the name of the grower is ridiculous.
“For me to eat romaine lettuce that the FDA has decided we don’t have a right to know who grew, it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Marler told KMOV.
Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of two children and one woman in Indiana and Missouri who all suffered kidney failure from E. coli.
“Three of the people I represent – two children, ages 8 and 15, and a woman in her 60s – developed acute kidney failure,” Marler told KMOV. “That means it is likely, in their lifetime, their kidneys are going to fail. They’ll require either a transplant, if they’re lucky, or lifetime dialysis.”
The firm also amended five previously filed lawsuits to include Taylor Farms as being linked to salads catered at a high school in St. Louis.
KMOV reported in November 2024 that more than 100 people were sickened from those salads, nine of which were hospitalized.
Marler said since he now believes the source of the outbreak is Taylor Farms, his firm will be dismissing their lawsuit claims against the St. Louis-based catering company Andre’s.
Andre’s owner, John Armengol Jr., sent KMOV a statement:
“There have been two truths since the national E. coli outbreak six months ago: My business should have never been named publicly until the investigation was complete, and my company has been a victim in this ordeal.”
Taylor Farms was named by the CDC in fall 2024 as the provider of slivered onions that caused an E. coli outbreak in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. That outbreak sickened 104 people in 14 states, leading to 34 hospitalizations. Four people developed kidney failure, and one person died.
But Marler says reporting on outbreaks and alerting the public is not a priority for the Trump administration. He claims that with recent job cuts, the CDC and FDA have been gutted and are no longer being transparent.
“It is disappointing, but with 20,000 employees at Health and Human Services (HHS) being fired, investigating, and reporting on outbreaks and alerting the public to the cause is clearly not a priority for this administration,” Marler said in a statement. “If the gutted CDC and FDA can no longer do the job, we will step up to inform and protect the public – so much for ‘Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).’”
Marler says it’s up to the government to provide accurate, up-to-date information. By concealing the providers, he says, they’re denying the public the right to know.
“The FDA and CDC have exactly the same information I have,” Marler told KMOV. “They just chose not to tell us.”
Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
