Time to toss the romaine lettuce in your fridge????

[pedro47]

Wow thanks for sharing the romaine lettuce is now history in our home.

 

[dioxide45]

I rarely buy romaine. Green leaf and iceberg is what I use in our salads. Cesar would be the only time i would use romaine.

 

[mdurette]

My small local grocery store (non chain) just sent out an email to people letting them know that non of the romaine they sell comes from the AZ farm in question.

I was thinking today how awful it must be for all the growers, distributors and markets that I'm sure are having issues with people not buying romaine period just because of this one farm.

 

[Luanne]

Dh assures me the lettuce mix he buys at our local Sprouts (which includes some romaine) is safe. If for some reason you don't see me posting..........................

 

[PigsDad]

I rarely buy romaine. Green leaf and iceberg is what I use in our salads. Cesar would be the only time i would use romaine.

Iceberg has very little nutritional value vs. Romaine, so we switched many years ago for our lettuce of choice. I don't care for some of the bitter greens, so Romaine is a good balance for us.

Kurt

 

[dioxide45]

Iceberg has very little nutritional value vs. Romaine, so we switched many years ago for our lettuce of choice. I don't care for some of the bitter greens, so Romaine is a good balance for us.

Kurt

The lettuce is only the vessel.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Americans are Avoiding Romaine Lettuce After an Outbreak - and It Reveals One of the Most Dangerous Grocery Store Habits

http://www.businessinsider.com/romaine-lettuce-outbreak-reveals-common-food-poisoning-danger-2018-4


Richard

 

[PigsDad]

The lettuce is only the vessel.

Sure, but it's nice when the vessel can contribute to the nutrition of the meal. That's how I look at it, when given a choice.

Kurt

 

[Patri]

I'm with dioxide. I don't care about the minimal nutrients in a few leaves of lettuce. Heads usually go bad before I use them anyway. Plus, a salad is just as good with no lettuce at all!

 

[DeniseM]

Actually, the darker green lettuce have significant nutritional value. Iceberg and other light green lettuce have less.

Green leaf lettuce contains 105 percent of the daily value of vitamin K, while romaine and butterhead have 85 percent. Green leaf lettuce also delivers 10 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, which is twice the amount in romaine or butterhead lettuce. Iceberg has 3 to 7 percent fewer B vitamins.​

More Info: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/green-lettuce-nutritious-4316.html

 

[clifffaith]

We like the romaine because it seems to last forever (like over a month). About 10 years ago we'd gotten in the habit of buying bags of salad mix, and we'd use those on sandwiches as well. Never ate it fast enough, so it was "normal" to throw half a bag out. Then we were having family over for burgers so I bought a head of regular lettuce -- couldn't get over how long it lasted in the fridge so we started buying head lettuce instead of bagged, and eventually ended up buying the bags of 3 romaine heads. Just threw away head #3 (at least 3 weeks old, likely longer) even though we'd eaten the first two heads with no issues. The fact that it had been around for a while made it easier to toss!

 

[PigsDad]

Yes, I've been impressed with how well Romaine keeps in the fridge as well. There is just the three of us in our house, but we buy the 6-pack of Romaine at Costco and the most we have to do is maybe discard the outer leaves of the last couple of heads as we use it. Even if we threw out half of the heads, I think it would still be less expensive than the grocery store!

Even though the Costco package said it was a product of California, we only had one head left when this warning came out so we tossed it.

Kurt

 

[MULTIZ321]

Everything You Need to Know About the Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak
By Kate Morgan/ Science of US/ The Cut/ thecut.com

"First things first: If you’re still eating romaine lettuce, stop. The year’s first major outbreak of a foodborne illness started in mid-March, when cases of E. coli infection were linked to romaine. Over the past few weeks, the ongoing outbreak has caused a nationwide panic, as retailers like Costco, Kroger, and Walmart pulled lettuce from their stores, the CDC issued warnings, and the number of documented cases of E. coli infection doubled, then tripled. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening.

How widespread is the romaine-lettuce contamination?

As of the CDC’s last reporting, on April 20, there have been 53 documented cases in 16 states, resulting in 31 hospitalizations. The infection has hit people from New Jersey to Alaska, but Tamika Sims, a microbiologist and director of food technology communications at the International Food Information Council, says the number may actually be much higher.

The outbreak is so widespread in part because of “the popularity of [romaine lettuce],” she says, “which also means it’s being produced in massive amounts. Right now we’re talking 16 states, but that’s just what’s been reported. A lot of the time cases of foodborne illness in hospitals don’t get documented, or linked to a specific outbreak, because people don’t remember what they did or didn’t eat. So it’s in 16 states, but it could actually be more.”

Does this mean all brands of romaine lettuce are unsafe?

While investigators haven’t yet determined the exact source of the E. coli contamination, they have linked the contaminated lettuce to the area of Yuma, Arizona. That doesn’t mean the problem is contained, though: the Yuma area produces about 90 percent of all the leafy vegetables — including all the romaine — grown and consumed in the United States between November and March...."

Photo: Shootdiem/Getty Images/iStockphoto


Richard

 

[WinniWoman]

I am still eating it every day at work. So far, so good.

 

[Luanne]

Dh finally threw out what we had left. I convinced him better safe than sorry.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Dangerous Outbreak of E. Coli Illness From Romaine Lettuce Expands, with 19 States Affected
By Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach/ To Your Health/ The Washington Post/ washingtonpost.com

"An additional 31 people have fallen ill from E. coli-contaminated romaine lettuce, bringing the tally to 84 cases across 19 states from an outbreak whose source is still under investigation.

Of those sickened, 42 have been hospitalized, a higher rate than usually seen in E. coli cases, and nine of those patients have developed kidney failure, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. No deaths have been reported.

The search for the source of the outbreak is ongoing. The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration say the Yuma, Ariz., growing region is the source, but no farm has been identified. The Yuma area grows most of the lettuce harvested in the United States during the winter months, but officials say that lettuce now in stores or at restaurants is probably from California's Central Valley or Salinas Valley and has not been implicated in the outbreak.

The CDC urges consumers not to eat any romaine lettuce unless they know it is not from the Yuma area. That includes all kinds of lettuce, whether chopped, whole-head or in a salad mix. The CDC advises consumers to throw away any romaine that might be from the Yuma region even if some of it has been eaten already with no sign of illness.

(CDC)


Richard

 

[clifffaith]

I went to Von's today expecting to have to buy head lettuce or Bibb lettuce. To my surprise they had two different regular brands and one organic brand of the romaine, so I went ahead and bought a bag figuring they know where it came from and it should be safe.

 

[Passepartout]

All ours has been sourced to California now. Methinks it's safe(r). We don't eat a lot of romaine anyway, but it's nice to not have to worry where it comes from.

 

[MULTIZ321]

Romaine Lettuce Outbreak Update: 98 People Sick in 22 States
By Mike Strobbe/ Associated Press/ AP/ apnewsarchive.com

"NEW YORK (AP) — A nasty strain of bacteria that can cause severe illness is what's driving a food poisoning outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, health officials said Friday.

The government now has reports of 98 people who got sick in 22 states. Forty-six people have been hospitalized, including 10 with kidney failure, which is an unusually high number of hospitalizations.

The outbreak has been blamed on E. coli bacteria in romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Arizona. While most E. coli bacteria are not harmful, some produce toxins that can cause severe illness.

The growing season in Yuma is pretty much over, but it's possible some illnesses will still occur, said Matthew Wise of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent illness began on April 20.

In the meantime, people should not buy or eat romaine unless they know it's not from Yuma. The Yuma region provides most of the romaine sold in the U.S. during the winter.

"We haven't been able to guarantee that there's no product coming out of Yuma at this point," added Stic Harris of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during a briefing for reporters.

While officials have tracked the outbreak to chopped and whole head romaine from Yuma, they don't know if it was tainted in the fields or at other point, like during packaging or distribution. The types of E. coli that cause illness can be spread through contaminated water or food, or through contact with infected animals or persons, the CDC says.

The last large E. coli outbreak like this involved spinach grown in California in 2016. Officials suspect cattle contaminated a nearby stream, and wild pigs roaming the area spread it to fields.

So far in Arizona, officials have tied eight of the 98 cases to whole head romaine lettuce grown at Harrison Farms in Yuma. Those eight cases were at a jail in Alaska. That farm's harvest has ended, Harris said.

The FDA is looking at two dozen other farms as the source of the chopped romaine tied to illnesses.

Mississippi, Tennessee and Wisconsin were added Friday to the states with reported food poisoning cases...."

FILE - This undated photo shows romaine lettuce in Houston. On Friday, April 27, 2018, the Centers for Disease Control said they now have reports of 98 food poisoning cases in 22 states. The outbreak is blamed on E. coli bacteria in romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Ariz. (Steve Campbell/Houston Chronicle via AP)


Richard

 

[WinniWoman]

Again- so if this is so bad, they should remove it from the shelves. I eat romaine every day- 5 days per week- no issues.

 

[GetawaysRus]

We are in Key West and ate at a local restaurant last night. We considered ordering a salad with romaine listed as one of the ingredients. We asked the waiter where the lettuce was from. All the restaurant knew was that their lettuce comes from Arizona. In other words, don't expect that your restaurant is up to date on the news.

 

[WinniWoman]

Making my next batch for this weeks lunch.

 

[mdurette]

First death reported yesterday and more states added to the list:

From local new source that notified of 2 cased in MA (previously none)
"There have been 121 reported illnesses in 25 states with 52 hospitalizations, 14 of which have reported kidney failure.

That number is said to be unusually high for this type of outbreak and yet the CDC website says there have been no official recalls on any romaine lettuce to date.

There is also still no word on where the outbreak originated, although the CDC does say it is somewhere in the Yuma, Arizona growing area.

Consumers are warned not to purchase or consume any romaine lettuce if they are unsure of where it came from. That includes bagged lettuce, heads of lettuce and lettuce from restaurants.

No word on when the outbreak will be pinpointed and brought under control or on how many more illnesses may occur before that happens.

For now, your best bet it to buy locally grown romaine lettuce only. Or switch to iceberg!"

 

[Free2Roam]

<snip >For now, your best bet it to buy locally grown romaine lettuce only. Or switch to iceberg!"

Or grow your own! I am a new AeroGarden-er and have been growing and enjoying my own lettuce. Next up... tomatoes.

 

[mdurette]

Yep. I just purchased some to grow. But around here we are just getting the weather to put them in the ground.