Printer-friendly version
Update November 27, 2018: The CDC has narrowed the warning to only Romaine lettuce grown in central and northern Califormia. Read more.
East County News Service
November 20, 2018 (Washington D.C.) – Consumers in the U.S. should not eat any romaine lettuce; restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any forms of romaine lettuce including whole heads, chopped, hearts of romaine, or mixed salads containing romaine lettuceincluding spring mix and Caesar salads.
That’s the warning issued today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration due to a nationwide outbreak of a virulent form of E.coli linked to romaine that has sickened 32 people in 11 states, including 10 cases in California.Nearly a third of those cases (13) required hospitalization. An additional 18 cases have occurred in Canada.
If you have any of these products, throw them away. If uncertain what type of lettuce is in a salad, do not eat it.
Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
Take action if you have symptoms of an E. coli infectionincluding stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea, which is often bloody:
- Talk to your healthcare provider.
- Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
- Report your illness to the health department.
- Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.
Medical professionals are advised not to administer antibiotics to patients diagnosed with or suspected of having E.coli 0157 infections because it can increase the risk of kidney failure.
CDC is advising that consumers do not eat any romaine lettuce because no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce has been identified. This investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide more information as it becomes available.
Recent comments