Santa Maria farm linked to E. coli outbreak

A source of the E. coli strain from the romaine lettuce outbreak has been found in sediment from an agricultural water reservoir on a farm in Santa Maria, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Officials said one sample from Adam Brothers Farming Inc. tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli. All lettuce from the Adam Brothers farm has now been recalled.

The farm is run by Richard, Kieran, Dominic, and Peter Adam, who is Santa Barbara County’s Fourth District Supervisor.

However, officials cautioned that this finding does not fully explain the outbreak and so the investigation continues.

“We don’t believe this is the only location involved in the outbreak,” said Stephen Osteroff, senior advisor to the FDA commissioner.

The FDA said it has been able to further narrow down the list of suspected growing regions believed to be part of this outbreak and therefore has updated advice to consumers.

Romaine lettuce from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara counties should continue to be avoided as well as any romaine lettuce that is not labeled with the harvest date and location.

To date, 59 illnesses in 15 U.S. states have been reported from this outbreak, the CDC said.

CNN’s Sandee LaMotte and Debra Goldschmidt CNN Health contributed to this report.