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CDC Tells Consumers To Throw Away All Romaine Lettuce Due to New E. Coli Outbreak

By Patricia Grannum
Published on: 10:55 PST, Nov 20, 2018

You may want to think twice before you take a bite of that salad made with romaine lettuce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a sweeping warning to consumers about a new E. coli outbreak that’s linked to romaine lettuce. According to an advisory posted on their website, no one should be eating romaine lettuce under any circumstances, and if you have some in your fridge, you need to throw it out right now. This also applies to anyone who has eaten romaine lettuce recently and has not gotten sick.

“This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad.” the advisory reads. “If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.”

The advice from the CDC applies to both private homes and restaurants. They’ve also warned that storage areas for lettuce, like refrigerator draws/shelves, should be thoroughly cleaned.

CNN reports that the infection has spread to over 30 people across 11 states and 13 of them have been hospitalized so far. Fortunately, there haven’t been any deaths so far. However one of the E. coli patients in the hospital developed a form of kidney failure because of the infection.

Thirty-two people, including 13 who have been hospitalized, have been infected with the outbreak strain in 11 states, according to the CDC. One of the hospitalized people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially life-threatening form of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

This isn’t the first time this year that an E. coli outbreak has been linked to romaine lettuce. As the Inquisitr previously reported, in January, E. coli-laced lettuce caused infections in almost 60 Canadians and people in 13 states in the U.S. This previous outbreak actually began in November 2017 and resulted in the death of one American citizen.

The CDC advises that E. coli symptoms can differ from person to person but they often include vomiting, stomach cramps, and diarrhea (often bloody). Sometimes people also get a mild fever.

Symptoms often appear about 3 to 4 days after exposure but they can pop up much later. They suggest that you see a doctor if you have bloody diarrhea for more than three days especially if it’s bloody and you also have a fever/vomiting episodes.

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