Rockland Warns Residents About Romaine

NEW CITY, NY — As the national warnings widen about E. coli in romaine lettuce, Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert alert residents that the multistate outbreak of illnesses includes two people in New York State.

Based on new information, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding its warning to consumers to cover all types of romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region. This warning now includes whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce, in addition to chopped romaine and salads and salad mixes containing romaine.

According to the CDC, the most recent illness started on April 12. Illnesses that occurred in the last two to three weeks might not yet be reported because of the time between when a person becomes ill with E. coli and when the illness is reported to CDC.

Consumers should not buy or eat romaine lettuce at a grocery store or restaurant unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region, Rockland health officials said. Unless the source of the product is known, consumers anywhere in the United States who have any store-bought romaine lettuce at home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. This includes whole heads and hearts of romaine, chopped romaine, and salads and salad mixes containing romaine lettuce. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.

Escherichia coli (abbreviated as E. coli) are bacteria found in the environment, foods, and intestines of people and animals. E. coli are a large and diverse group of bacteria. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can make you sick. Some kinds of E. coli can cause diarrhea, while others cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia, and other illnesses.

For more information about symptoms of E. coli and when to see a doctor, visit here.

For more information about E. coli linked to the outbreak visit here.

PHOTO/ CDC