CDC Issues Romaine Warning After E. Coli Outbreak

The Associated Press reports:

U.S. health officials are telling people to avoid romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, California, as they investigate a food poisoning outbreak. The warning comes almost exactly one year after a similar outbreak.

They also say not to eat the leafy green if the label doesn’t say where it was grown. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 40 people in more than a dozen states.

Romaine has been tied to repeated food poisoning outbreaks, including one right before Thanksgiving last year. It’s not clear exactly why romaine keeps sickening people, but food safety experts note the difficulty of eliminating risk for produce grown in open fields and eaten raw.

FOOD SAFETY ALERT: Do not eat, sell, or serve any romaine lettuce labeled as grown in “Salinas.” Find out how to identify this lettuce, which is linked to an E. coli outbreak: https://t.co/sZvP3yMmqV pic.twitter.com/9xrDhw58rf

— CDC (@CDCgov) November 22, 2019