The outbreak of E. coli related to romaine lettuce, which broke out in North America last fall, caused the death of a two-year-old boy in Ontario.

In the fall, the Bell family ate romaine lettuce that made them all sick.

Kristen and Brad Bell, residing in Stirling-Rawdon near Kingston, experienced mild symptoms. Their two-year-old child Cooper had symptoms similar to those of gastroenteritis. After a first visit to the emergency room, the child was taken with convulsions. When he was rushed to the childrens hospital in eastern Ontario, Cooper was diagnosed with kidney failure due to E. coli. He died of a heart attack.

"E. coli should not be found in our food. The way we grow our food is dangerous. Something has to change," Brad Bell told.

Canadian and American authorities had reported nearly 100 cases of E. coli patients last fall during the most recent outbreak. She had forced the removal of this variety of salad from grocery store shelves.

By spring 2018, more than 200 people had become ill and five had died in the United States, while another outbreak occurred in the fall of 2017.