Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 11/2/18

Romaine lettuce is going to come under an increased level of scrutiny before it reaches Caesar salads everywhere after a deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreak tied to greens grown in Yuma, Ariz., earlier this year. The FDA said Thursday it's launching a special surveillance project to monitor romaine lettuce for contamination.

"This will help us determine whether products are safe to enter the U.S. marketplace," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement.

— It was probably the water: FDA conducted an intensive, monthslong investigation after the outbreak in Yuma-produced romaine, but could not nail down the definitive cause. In an environmental assessment released Thursday, FDA said contaminated canal water was likely the mode of contamination, but investigators couldn't rule out other possibilities. FDA found the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 in sampling of water from three locations along a 3.5-mile stretch of an irrigation canal adjacent to both lettuce growing fields and a CAFO.
— Where are the produce safety water standards? The fact that FDA identified water as the likely means of contamination led consumer groups to call on the agency to finalize its long-delayed water-safety standards under the Food Safety Modernization Act produce-safety rule.
— Slow regulatory roll: Last year, FDA essentially scrapped its water standards after produce growers, local food advocates and others connected to the sector criticized the regulations as being too complicated and unworkable for growers. Compliance with water standards for produce growers has been pushed back several years to give FDA more time to develop new, more workable standards.

"In light of this assessment, FDA must finalize its safety standards for agricultural water soon — in a matter of months, not years," Sandra Eskin, head of food safety at the Pew Charitable Trusts, said in an email to MA. Eskin suggested FDA should develop stronger standards than it previously proposed.