For the second consecutive year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced temporary import requirements for romaine lettuce originating from specific Salina Valley counties in California.

U.S. authorities have identified this geographical area as a recurring source of E. coli outbreaks. The temporary Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license conditions for the import of romaine from these regions has two requirements.

• declare that the product does not originate from counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito and Monterey in the Salinas Valley, California, U.S., or

• submit an attestation form and Certificates of Analysis for each shipment to demonstrate that the romaine lettuce does not contain detectable levels of E. coli O157:H7

The importer must provide Proof of Origin indicating the state and county where the romaine was harvested if it is from outside those counties in California. Any romaine lettuce or salad mixes containing romaine from those counties must be accompanied by the attestation that the sampling was conducted according to temporary SFC license conditions demonstrating that the product doesn’t have detectable levels of that pathogen.

Romaine lettuce grown in California that has been handled by a certified member of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), and romaine lettuce grown in Arizona that has been handled by a shipper that is a certified member of the Arizona LGMA are allowed. There are detailed rules about sampling the romaine for pathogens, and the amount of lettuce that must be tested.

Source:  Canadian Food Inspection Agency July 13, 2022 news release