Romaine lettuce is not safe to eat, CDC warns U.S. consumers
Source: The Washington Post
By Joel Achenbach and Lena H. Sun November 20 at 2:51 PM
Romaine lettuce is unsafe to eat in any form, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday in a broad alert in response to a new outbreak of illnesses caused by a particularly dangerous type of E. coli contamination.
The CDC told consumers to throw away any romaine lettuce they may already have purchased. Restaurants should not serve it, stores should not sell it, and people should not buy it, no matter where or when the lettuce was grown. It doesnt matter if it is chopped, whole head or part of a mix. All romaine should be avoided.
The CDC alert, issued just two days before Americans sit down for their Thanksgiving dinners, reported that 32 people in 11 states have become sick from eating contaminated romaine. Of those, 13 have been hospitalized, with one patient suffering from a form of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.
The origin of the outbreak is unknown and remains under investigation. The CDC did not limit the warning to romaine from any particular agricultural area.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/romaine-lettuce-is-not-safe-to-eat-cdc-warns-us-consumers/2018/11/20/726d0ae6-ece9-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html
Historic NY
(37,454 posts)Scoopster
(423 posts)No funding means no inspectors and no oversight of the country's food supply, which means people get sick for no good reason.
PSPS
(13,620 posts)DemocracyMouse
(2,275 posts)I heard that certain handheld technologies also poorly regulated have been contaminated with bullets. In this case the contaminates have killed tens of thousands annually.
No one can figure out why Amreicans arent banning these dangerous technologies along with the romaine lettuce. The latter has not killed anyone yet.
Crutchez_CuiBono
(7,725 posts)after everyone bought the 'shitty' Romaine. How convenient. The stores should've thrown it out first. LOTS of salads eaten on Thursday this week. That's an ugly sickness.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)...and who knows what else.
I'm all for organic farming, but there are certain steps that have to be taken for safety.
More plant compost, and less animal manure, but in both cases good composting practice is mandatory. Eating fewer animals will change that balance, over time.
Delmette2.0
(4,174 posts)exboyfil
(17,865 posts)I wonder how much I have left?
My mom got sick last month with E coli (she lives in Florida). I wonder if she got bad romaine. She was in the hospital for almost a month (also had MRSA). Still IV antibiotics at home.
I threw everything out of her refrigerator, but I did purchase and consume three heads of romaine while I was down there. It is my go to salad.
Well back to iceberg I guess. Will save some bucks, but not nearly as good.
haele
(12,682 posts)A bit more peppery and not as "crunchy", but they're good substitutes for lettuce wraps.
Cabbage is also a good substitute, but you need to make sure it's young if you want it sweet.
Haele.
wasupaloopa
(4,516 posts)I dont like eating the center of the leaves only the green leafy part do I like.
llmart
(15,556 posts)I always cut the rib out of the leaf and just tear up the lettuce leaf portion. I also never buy bagged greens (or boxes, or whatever they prepackage it in). It just isn't as fresh tasting to me. Yes, it's more time consuming, but it's worth it.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)frazzled
(18,402 posts)The organic label does not protect against potential ecoli contamination.
DonViejo
(60,536 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Can't say in this case, but many of the spinach recalls were for organic varieties. They don't use nearly the chemicals that the industrial farms use and so apparently are more exposed to risk if the vegetables get contaminated.
LisaM
(27,843 posts)I like salad greens to be crunchy, not limp. They'd better fix this asap.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)I like other greens too, but I always like to mix in Romaine for the crunch and texture.
LisaM
(27,843 posts)Also, I love Caesar salads.
I like iceberg lettuce for sandwiches; guess I'll mix it with darker greens for salads until this is fixed.
dhill926
(16,370 posts)will wait to see what states are affected. Odds are it's ok...
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)dhill926
(16,370 posts)oops...California not looking too good...
Freethinker65
(10,065 posts)jb5150
(1,183 posts)I detest iceberg lettuce.
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)...a friend of mine got salmonella from spinach last year, and quite literally nearly died from it.
Sneederbunk
(14,310 posts)Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)I think I'll go ahead and eat the salad I picked up for dinner.
DRoseDARs
(6,810 posts)The CDC is not a hotbed of hair-on-fire panic and woo. Their primary job is not to react to outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, but to stay ahead of them and prevent them if they can. If they're telling you to throw your romaine lettuce out, THROW YOUR ROMAINE LETTUCE OUT.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)If you're going to die for food, at least die for something with flavor.
pamela
(3,469 posts)It hurt. I'm on a fairly tight budget and it was the last of my produce but I can't afford to get sick either. And dying would really suck.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)I want your salad, I want your disease
I want your croutons as long as they're free
I want your leaves
Leaves, leaves, leaves, I want your leaves
I want your leaves, and I want honey ranch
You and me could eat a bad romaine
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Caught in a bad romaine
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)StarryNite
(9,461 posts)Geez this is getting old!
benld74
(9,911 posts)And has been since WAY before the 1st outbreak.
Guess we've been playing roulette?
defacto7
(13,485 posts)I imagine they use iceburg for those... but who knows.
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)Can we order extra lettuce on all of Rump's big macs at least?
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)LisaM
(27,843 posts)I'm glad to know they're keeping on top of these announcements.
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)...and it certainly was in the Caesar from a couple of days before that.
So, I imagine its only a matter of time before I get tombstoned
in the literal sense.
It was nice knowing all of you.
Harker
(14,049 posts)I would advise you, though, to steer well clear of the salmon mousse.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)used with this form of ecoli 'infection'.
here's CDC link and note even Canada is having some cases.-
https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2018/o157h7-11-18/index.html
They need to find the source! There aren't that many mega-farm growers corporations..
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)I don't normally eat romaine. We usually eat Spring mix from our co-op.
At least your average Minnesotan won't have to worry about it on Thanksgiving. The only salad usually on any traditional table is jello salad or ambrosia salad. Ewwww.
ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)You know--carrot and celery sticks, olives, pickles, red pepper rings.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)About the only thing we don't do anymore is pickled peaches or those apple rings that are soaked in grenadine.
ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)And this year I'm going to add some pickled jalapenos.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)We're bringing dolmas for an appetizer.
ginnyinWI
(17,276 posts)The first one I looked up online, Fresh Express, contains Romaine.
Hassler
(3,392 posts)Duppers
(28,127 posts)I just bought some 2 nights ago.
IronLionZion
(45,554 posts)salad is just not worth it
I have spinach, peppers, onions, kale, broccoli. I like raw spinach but will saute in olive oil just in case.
This outbreak may not be limited to just romaine.
riversedge
(70,340 posts)NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)How come only it has problems? We don't hear about red or green leaf, or iceberg lettuce.
Cal Tek
(41 posts)Unless you're a rabbit, or hamster, or gerbil, etc. Daym Drops, a Youtuber who reviews fast-food items, calls it "crunchy water." I agree.
AdamGG
(1,295 posts)The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)No romaine. I like romaine. I hope all the wingnuts who hate that "big gubmint" are watching. "Big gubmint" with well-funded and professional oversight of this could keep this kind of dangerous food issue at bay.
BlueInRedHell
(100 posts)regular salads. Salads with all the other veggies but no lettuce are good but *not the same*.
Vinca
(50,318 posts)Sedona
(3,769 posts)And I'm sick as fuck!
zeusdogmom
(999 posts)Even inside in the middle of winter. A old shop light is my grow light. It's not that hard.
I have a few sad heads left in the garden. It has been pretty cold and my frost cover took a beating in the wind. Time to fire up my basement garden.
gtar100
(4,192 posts)over fields or letting it collect in ponds where it accidentally seeps into the ground water. Or throwing their shit everywhere and calling it fertilizer. I'm sure there's an explanation out there that doesn't make anyone feel uncomfortable about how shitty we treat the animals we eat ot how irresponsible and reprehensible factory farming is. Or the fact that we support it every time we buy the body parts. They are, after all, just meat sacks made for our pleasure and consumption, I presume. Who the fuck cares as long as the packaging looks good. Contamination must be something that just happens to lettuce sometimes. Gotta be careful about those vegetables!
SCRUBDASHRUB
(7,252 posts)Throwing it out, but hopefully I won't get sick. Grrr..
Better safe than sorry.
diva77
(7,663 posts)YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)I'm wondering if the CDC is putting out a blanket statement to ward off any possibilities of contamination. Organic Romaine has to be safer. IMO They honestly do not know where the problem lays. I'm eating a salad of baby mix greens, organic, and haven't had any illness bestowed on me.
suffragette
(12,232 posts)Cha
(297,774 posts)Butter leaf from Maui.. with my pasta salad.
I bought it at Safeway on Kauai..
http://www.livegourmet.com/blog/lettuce-be-fresh/dos-and-donts-for-extending-leafy-greens/
Be safe!
GoCubsGo
(32,096 posts)It's hydroponically-grown. Probably not from Maui, however. It's great for lettuce wraps.
Turbineguy
(37,372 posts)National Romaine Association.