Schnucks Sued Over Lettuce Outbreak

Two St. Louis-area residents have sued Schnuck Markets Inc. after getting sick during an E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce sold at the grocer’s stores.

Although no tests were positive for E. coli, the Centers for Disease Control believes romaine lettuce consumed between Oct. 5 and 24 was the contaminant, the St. Louis-based grocer announced. The outbreak was tracked back to a single lot of romaine lettuce harvested by a single farm, which Schnucks declined to identify.

The CDC’s report said the majority of people in early interviews had eaten lettuce that could statistically be linked to nine locations in what the agency referred to as “grocery store Chain A,” which the grocer has confirmed is Schnucks. The lettuce was contaminated prior to distribution, the CDC reported.

The findings, posted on the CDC’s website, were the results of two months of investigation and testing on the part of local, state and federal health officials.

The latest plaintiff, a 61-year-old man, ate romaine lettuce and other salad bar items several times from a Schnucks location and later spent several days in a hospital cardiac unit to be treated for an E. coli bacterial infection, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. An earlier plaintiff filed suit, alleging she suffered permanent kidney damage from an E. coli infection after eating salads from Schnucks, the P-D reported.