Trader Joe’s Hit With Suit Over E. coli Outbreak in Romaine

A California woman was severely sickened by bacteria-tainted romaine lettuce sold by Trader Joe’s Co. last year, a new lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit filed by Megan Renkow May 9 stems from a 36-state outbreak of a severe strain of E. coli bacteria in Arizona lettuce that sickened 210, hospitalized 96, and killed five.

State and federal health officials traced the pathogen to romaine grown in the Yuma, Ariz., after finding a genetically similar strain in a canal bordering the farms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Renkow, of Redondo Beach, Calif., says in her complaint filed in ...