Avoid Romaine Lettuce After CA E.coli Outbreak: Consumer Reports

MALIBU, CA – Romaine lettuce is being investigated as the cause of an E.coli outbreak which has sickened at least 58 people in the U.S. and Canada, including three reported cases in California, according to consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an outbreak has affected 13 states and one person has died. It did not confirm the link to lettuce. It is unknown where in New York state a case was reported.
Consumer Reports said people should stop eating romaine until the source of the tainted product is determined.
The sick were infected between Nov. 15 and Dec. 8 with the outbreak leading to five hospitalizations and one death, the Centers for Disease Control said. Two others are "gravely ill" and a second death was reported in Canada, according to Food Safety News.

Canadian authorities did identify romaine lettuce as the culprit behind the deadly outbreak, but American health officials say they continue to investigate it. The CDC has not yet told consumers to avoid any other food because no specific product has been recalled, the agency said.

"Because we have not identified a source of the infections, CDC is unable to recommend whether U.S. residents should avoid a particular food. This investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available," the CDC said on its website.

But Consumer Reports is warning Americans to exercise caution and avoid the product altogether.

“Even though we can’t say with 100 percent certainty that romaine lettuce is the cause of the E. coli outbreak in the U.S., a greater degree of caution is appropriate given that lettuce is almost always consumed raw,” said James Rogers, Director of Food Safety and Research at Consumer Reports.

The CDC said it continues to interview infected people to determine what they ate in the week before their illness started. "CDC is still collecting information to determine whether there is a food item in common among sick people, including leafy greens and romaine," the agency said on its website.

Researchers at Consumer Reports said they fear "people could eat a lot of potentially contaminated romaine while waiting for a company recall or for the CDC and FDA to identify the specific source of the outbreak."

Originally reported by Kara Seymour/Patch; Main image by BlackRiv/Pixabay