The other day I told you about how your lettuce can hear you chomping away at it. It was a scary thought, but it looks like this is even worse. Maybe they found out that we knew we were knowingly hurting them and decided to turn on us.
It seems that lettuce that was grown in Yuma, Arizona is to blame for an E. Coli outbreak according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aka the CDC.
So far, 35 cases have been reported that have spanned 11 states including Washington, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Idaho and Pennsylvania. The latter two had the most with 8-9 reports.
They’ve reported that the people effected saw symptoms starting around March 22nd. Only 22 of those people have been hospitalized and three developed a type of kidney failure that is known to be connected to E. Coli. This is the bad part due to the life-threatening nature.
The CDC’s website said this advice to consumers:
“Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick.
If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.”
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Aka don’t mess with lettuce till this is under control. It’s not like this was a problem for me, but for those of you that eat like rabbits, be careful!
They also continued to say:
“Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, consumers should confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.
If you cannot confirm the source of the romaine lettuce, do not buy it or eat it.”
So maybe you had a recent helping of romaine, now you’re wondering how long it takes to see symptoms. They start two to eight days after you consume the lettuce, but it seems like the consensus for these patients is that it started three or four days after eating it. Symptoms can range from severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.
Most people recover within 5-7 days, but obviously since the CDC is involved, there is a risk that it could get worse. They also concluded that people who became ill with the E. Coli virus were either very young, very old or people with compromised immune systems. Yes that seems very obvious but there you go, science…
The CDC also said to business owners:
“Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any chopped romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.
Restaurants and retailers should ask their suppliers about the source of their chopped romaine lettuce.”
So overall advice? Just stay away from the green stuff, and if you are a vegetarian…good luck!