CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Hail, Caesar salads: Romaine lettuce is safe again

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - 5/23/2018

May 23--Caesar salad is back on the menu: Romaine lettuce is safe to eat again, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tainted romaine lettuce led to warnings from the CDC to throw away all romaine grown in the Yuma, Ariz., region. Now, the federal agency says no more greens are being supplied to restaurants or grocers from that region.

A national E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce affected states across the country, including Pennsylvania.

Investigators still don't know what happened in the Yuma region, according to an NPR report. An investigation continues.

This particular strain of E. coli toxin can lead to kidney failure, and possibly death. Symptoms of this E. coli infection include bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pain that occur hours after eating the contaminated food.

The outbreak resulted in 172 cases of E. coli with 75 hospitalizations in 32 states, the CDC said. One person died.

"According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the last shipments of romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region were harvested on April 16, 2018, and the harvest season is over," the CDC said in an update on its website. "It is unlikely that any romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region is still available in people's homes, stores, or restaurants due to its 21-day shelf life."

___

(c)2018 The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.