Food Safety Alert: E. Coli Outbreak Is Linked To Romaine Lettuce From California

The CDC issued a food safety alert last week advising people not to consume romaine lettuce from the Salinas, CA, region following 40 reported cases of E. coli.

In the alert, the CDC advised that people not eat and businesses not sell any romaine products that have been labeled as created in (or partly in) Salinas. This includes all types of whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and packages of precut lettuce and salad mixes which contain romaine. If your romaine does not include a region or you aren’t sure if it’s romaine, the CDC advises throwing it away.

The CDC also reported 40 confirmed cases of E. coli from 16 states associated with the recall, 28 of which have been hospitalizations. There have been no deaths. You can find a map of reported cases here.

The alert listed the recent salad recall from Missa Bay, LLC which saw thousands of pounds of pre-packaged salad recalled over E. coli fears.

“We are concerned about the potential for contaminated lettuce on store shelves and in people’s refrigerators,” Director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases Dr. Robert Tauxe told USA Today in a statement: “Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, it is critically important to avoid buying or eating romaine lettuce from the Salinas growing area so you can protect yourself and your family.”

If you have any of the romaine lettuce in question in your home, you should dispose of it and wash any surfaces it may have touched.

Romaine lettuce has been linked to several outbreaks in recent years and this most recent health alert said that this outbreak was caused by the same strain of E. coli that caused outbreaks linked to lettuce in 2017 and 2018.

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