UPDATE: Thirty-one more ill people from 10 states were added to this investigation since the last update. Three more states have reported ill people: Colorado, Georgia, and South Dakota. The total case count is not 84. The CDC asks that you dispose of and do not consume any romaine lettuce that you are unable to verify did not come from the Yuma, AZ area.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending consumers to throw out their romaine lettuce, if they're not sure where it came from. The current E. Coli outbreak stems from romaine lettuce that was grown in Yuma, AZ growing region.
As of April 18, a CDC report shows 53 people across 16 states were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli. 31 people have been hospitalized, 0 people have died.
The CDC has issued the following information for consumers who are looking to buy romaine lettuce in stores, order it at restaurants, or eat what they've already purchased at home:
- Based on new information, CDC 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.
- Do 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.
- 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. Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, throw out any romaine lettuce if you’re uncertain about where it was grown. 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.
- Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.
- The expanded warning is based on information from newly reported illnesses in Alaska. Ill people in Alaska reported eating lettuce from whole heads of romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.
