E. Coli Outbreak: CDC Identifies Food Making People Sick

SEATTLE, WA - Health officials are warning consumers to steer clear of chopped romaine lettuce due to possible E. coli contamination. An ongoing multi-state E. coli outbreak has sickened 35 people across the U.S., including at least one person in Washington.

Centers for Disease Control investigators believe that romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz., area is at the root of the outbreak. Investigators have not said how that lettuce was sold, and are issuing a blanket warning about all products containing chopped romaine.

"Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away," the CDC said in a bulletin.

Idaho and Pennsylvania have the most cases, with at least 8 sick in each state. Twenty-two people have been hospitalized, including three people who have experienced an E. coli-related type of kidney failure.

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