Lettuce E Coli Outbreak Continues to Grow 1 Death Reported

The Lettuce E-coli outbreak continues to grow with 1 death reported. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 3 more states have seen cases, bringing the total to 25. There have been 121 cases reported with 52 people hospitalized and 1 death in California. Despite the growth, there has been some progress made in the investigation.

Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Utah are the newest states added to the list, with more cases being reported in Pennsylvania. The CDC has identified the farm in Yuma, Arizona that was home to the tainted romaine lettuce, but they still don't know where the contamination occurred, in growing, harvesting, packaging, or distribution.

The growing season has ended in Arizona, but more E-Coli cases are expected to be reported as it takes 2-3 weeks for the information to be sent to the CDC. The lettuce was harvested in early March which means it's shelf life has ended. Still, they suggest following these recommendations.

• Do not eat or buy romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region.
• Product labels often do not identify growing regions; so, do not eat or buy romaine lettuce if you do not know where it was grown.
• This advice 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 in a salad mix is romaine, do not eat it.

The CDC offers more details on the investigation at their website. The map below indicates where the largest outbreaks have been reported.

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