Critics Are Going After the FDA for Failing To Publicize an E. Coli Outbreak That Left a Child Near Death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is facing harsh criticisms after closing a November 2024 lettuce recall without alerting the public at large about the details of the problem.

The FDA quietly closed the case in February 2025 without issuing any sort of public statement naming the companies involved in the recall or what led to the sale of the contaminated veggies to begin with.

This prompted some to raise questions about the way that the FDA handled the recall, with some critics accusing the FDA of a cover-up when it comes to the E. coli outbreak that contaminated romaine lettuce in 15 states.

Here's everything we know about the incident, including details from an internal FDA report.

Dozens of people fell ill in November 2024, after experts believe that they ate romaine lettuce that had been contaminated by E. Coli. But, the FDA never publicized the details of this recall, according to NBC News, and the details of what happened in the 15 state recall only popped up on the public's radar months later, after those who became the most critically ill filed lawsuits against the company they believe was behind the tainted veggies.

Instead of following the typical protocols, which involve making a statement on the FDA website, sharing the details of the recall, the FDA opted to close the case in February 2025 without naming names. NBC obtained a copy of an internal report about the outbreak, which noted that someone had died as a result of the outbreak, but did not list the person's name or anything else.

“There were no public communications related to this outbreak,” the report said.

Former FDA deputy commissioner of food policy Frank Yiannas told NBC News that he found the lack of disclosure "disturbing," and said that it robbed the public of their chance to make an informed decision about whether to purchase food from the company in question.

Not only that, but a lack of information about a recall can hinder the tracking of an outbreak, since people could become ill and not realize what's going on because they have no idea about their potential exposure.

That can be dangerous with things like E.coli, since a bout with the infection could cause long-term damage if untreated.

When reached for comment, an FDA spokesperson told NBC News that it didn't name the firm involved with the outbreak because of two critical issues. First, it said that there wasn't enough evidence to determine which farm produced the contaminated lettuce. Second, it noted that there was no "actionable advice" for customers, since the outbreak had ended, the FDA had nothing solid to report.

However, Newsweek notes that staffing cuts made at the start of 2025 by the Trump administration could've contributed to the lack of reporting, since the people who would've been tasked with handling this situation have likely been laid off.

"We no longer have all the mechanisms in place to learn from those situations and prevent the next outbreak from happening," former FDA employee Taryn Webb told the publication.

Unfortunately, the outbreak did sicken many people, including a 9-year-old boy who almost died as a result of the illness. Several lawsuits are likely to be filed as a result of this outbreak, including a number that were already submitted to the courts as of April 2025.