Warning from CDC: Do not eat romaine lettuce

An outbreak of E. coli has prompted the CDC to recommend that consumers and retailers discard any romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Arizona growing region. If you cannot confirm where it was grown, do not eat it. Recalls are already taking place at area grocery stores.

Posted 9:10 a.m. Apr 17, 2018 — Updated 3:15 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

An outbreak of E. coli has prompted the CDC to recommend that consumers and retailers discard any romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Arizona, growing region. If you cannot confirm where it was grown, do not eat it, according to the agency.

The CDC website indicates, "no specific grower, supplier, distributor, or brand has been identified. Thirty-five people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 11 states. Twenty-two people have been hospitalized, including three people who have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. No deaths have been reported."

You will notice that many packages of lettuce have been removed from grocery store shelves while they determine the full scope of the outbreak. Kroger in Garner has signs posted that Kroger and Dole romaine lettuce packages have been voluntarily recalled.

Highlights from CDC.gov:

Information collected to date indicates that chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region could be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 and could make people sick.

At this time, no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand has been identified.

Advice to Consumers:

Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.

Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, consumers should confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. If you cannot confirm the source of the romaine lettuce, do not buy it or eat it.

Advice to Restaurants and Retailers:

Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any chopped romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.

Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their chopped romaine lettuce.

CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) infections.

Thirty-five people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from 11 states.

Twenty-two people have been hospitalized, including three people who have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.

No deaths have been reported.

This investigation is ongoing, and CDC will provide updates when more information is available.

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