Throw Away All Your Romaine Lettuce, CDC Warns U.S. Consumers

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Oh my… another massive recall!

According to the CDC, due to an E. coli outbreak, consumers with any type of romaine lettuce in their home (or who plan to eat salads from outside of the home) should not eat it and should throw away any in the home immediately – even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick.

This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, including:

• whole heads of romaine
• hearts of romaine
• bags and boxes of precut lettuce
• salad mixes that contain romaine
• baby romaine
• spring mix
• Caesar salad

If you don’t know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, don’t eat it and throw it out.

Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.

Although there have not been any reported deaths, 32 people infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coliO157:H7 have been reported from 11 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from October 8, 2018, to October 31, 2018. Thirteen people were hospitalized, including one person who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure.

Because the FDA and states are working to trace back romaine lettuce that ill people ate in the current outbreak, at this time, no common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce has been identified.

From the CDC: Consumers should not eat any romaine lettuce, and restaurants and retailers should not sell any, until more is learned about this outbreak and the source of the contaminated lettuce.

If you have lettuce and you’re unsure of its type or origin, throw it out!