The holidays are coming up, which means a lot more holiday gatherings and cooking up new dishes. This season you might want to stray away from serving your Grandfather's famous Caesar salad. According to the CDC, over 100 cases of E Coli have been confirmed in relation to romaine lettuce, making this romaine lettuce e. coli outbreak very concerning.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public health officials, and the FDA are currently investigating the outbreak of e. coli. Current information shows the origin of the outbreak was from the Salinas, California growing region. Because of this, consumers should not consume salad mixes, baby romaine lettuce, and salad products from this region. Throw away the product or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.
Everything You Need to Know About the Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak
102 cases have been reported so far in 23 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Wisconsin has reported 31 cases so far, the largest concentration of the e. coli infection. Of all reported cases of the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7, 58 people have been hospitalized, and 10 people have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. So far, no deaths have been reported.
This current outbreak is pretty scary, especially since people eat out more during the holidays. In regards to food safety, I would wait a while before ordering a salad at a restaurant and triple-check the place of origin of all leafy greens and hearts of romaine you purchase from the store. If there's no location on the package, put it back. There's nothing worse than to get sick this holiday season over a bad salad.
