Romaine Lettuce Is Not Safe to Eat, CDC Warns U.S. Consumers

[bluehende]

I'm not an epidemiologist, but early in my career I provided technical support in teams led by epidemiologists investigating disease outbreaks, mostly related to water sanitation and treatment. The filing cabinets next to my desk also contained records of epidemiological investigations going back to about 1920, when the Bureau of Sanitation Engineering was first created. The trip reports provided very interesting reading - I learned that the first thing that the teams did when there was an outbreak was to compare the incidence of disease in the Chinese and Japanese communities with the rest of the community. If the epidemic was having little effect in the Asian communities, the teams knew right away that it was probably a water-borne epidemic.

Some of observations:

1. Gastroenteritis is/was a common descriptor for the cases I was aware of or involved with. All gastroenteritis means is that there was a gastroenteric infection of unknown etiology. As the ability to look for and identify specific pathogens has increased greatly over the years, many outbreaks that previously would have been classed as gastroenteritis now classed with specific etiology.

2. Related to that, you have to be very cautious in concluding that certain types of diseases are occurring with greater frequency now than in the past. Often what is seen is simply better identification and diagnosis. Giardiasis is an excellent example. People have been contracting giardiasis for as long as people have been drinking water from streams and lakes in watersheds that have mammals, particularly mammals who have close contact with water. But giardiasis wasn't even recognized as a waterborne disease until the late 1960s, and the ability to effectively identify giardia cysts in water didn't exist until specific antigen detection methods were developed in the mid-1970s.

3. In a similar vein, the awareness of disease outbreaks is directly related to the amount of effort put into looking for outbreaks, and the efficiency of those efforts. 100% of all unidentified outbreaks are not reported. When you start looking for outbreaks you will find them. That doesn't mean that there has been an outbreak. It might not even be an epidemic, if what you are identifying is the tip of a pandemic.

4. The probability of an outbreak being identified is directly related to the size of the outbreak. That's not surprising, but many people don't grasp the direct corollary - our data vastly undercount small localized outbreaks. So you can't look at the data and ratio the data to determine to what extent problems are linked to "large" vs. "small" outbreaks.

5. There is a trade-off that comes into play with macro-scale vs micro-scale food management systems. One advantage of a macro-scale system is that it is easier to assure that sanitation procedures are applied to all food, starting in the field, through preparation, and into distribution - a principle that Chipotle paid a dear price to learn. The disadvantage of a large scale system is that when a problem occurs, the scope of the problem is much greater - a principle that Jack-in-the-Box paid a dear price to learn. Also apply again the principle that most of those small outbreaks are going to go undetected.

6. For myself, I can't say whether obtaining food from small local producers is more safe or less safe than obtaining food from larger scale production and distribution systems. When I walk through a farmers market, I know there is little to no real assurance of how that produce has been grown and handled. I don't know that it's organic just because the vendor says it is. How do I know that the vendor didn't use animal manure to fertilize the greens and close ground contact vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, radishes, carrots? How do I know that the farm isn't downwind of someone who is raising and managing livestock (so the farm is subject to deposition of wind-blown animal waste)? What do I know of the handling procedures used with the milk to produce that cheese? It's pretty much an unregulated market out there. I don't think I can assert that it's any safer; in fact in many ways it's like a return to how things were done before large scale food processing occurred, and there is evidence that food sanitation was a problem then. I remember my Mother, who grew up as a near-subsistence level sharecroppers daughter in North Dakota, commenting how she felt more comfortable feeding us dairy and meat items from the supermarket because she had greater confidence the supermarket food wasn't contaminated as compared with food that her family ate when she was a child (especially dairy and meat).

Thank you for taking the time to make this post. You wrote what I was trying to say but was too lazy to post such a well written and informative post.

I especially like number 6. Modern food production,regulations. and improvements in detection have made our food distribution the safest it has ever been. Unfortunately as you say data will not prove or disprove this opinion.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Thank you for taking the time to make this post. You wrote what I was trying to say but was too lazy to post such a well written and informative post.

I especially like number 6. Modern food production,regulations. and improvements in detection have made our food distribution the safest it has ever been. Unfortunately as you say data will not prove or disprove this opinion.

I would say that it has made it the safest it has ever been, as well as the riskiest it has ever been.

 

[MULTIZ321]

California Blamed for E.Coli-Infected Romaine: FDA Says a Third of Illnesses Are in LA County - Where Most Lettuce Is Grown in State
By Mia De Graaf/ Health Editor for Daily Mail.com/ Health/ dailymail.co.uk

• "32 people in 11 states have been struck down by lettuce-linked E. coli
• 13 of the victims are receiving hospital treatment
• The CDC told anyone with romaine at home to throw it away
• Cases have been identified in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
• Another 18 people have been sickened in Ontario and Quebec, Canada
• The strain (O157:H7) is not the same strain as the one from Yuma, Arizona, which sickened dozens earlier this year
  
  

California may be the source of the E. coli-infected romaine lettuce sickening people across the US and Canada.

A third of the 32 cases reported on Tuesday were reported in Los Angeles County, CBS reports.

Most of the lettuce bought and sold in Southern California is grown in the state, industry figures told the site.

'Given the harvest cycle at that time, I think there's a good possibility that it came from California, yes,' Scott Horsfall, CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), told CBS.

The LGMA was formed in 2007 after a particularly aggressive E. coli outbreak which sickened 200 people.

The group, made up of farmers across California, created guidelines and surveillance to spot infection issues earlier.

Unfortunately, Horsfall said, it's going to be a tall order tracing this infection right back to the exact source.

'y the time they're actually doing trace-back, there is no packaging left, there's no product left,' he said.

The strain causing the current outbreak - E. coli O157:H7 - is the same as the one which caused an outbreak last year from romaine and unspecified leafy greens grown in Canada.

It is not the same strain as the one from Yuma, Arizona, which sickened dozens and killed five earlier this year.

This time, 32 people in 11 states have been struck down by lettuce-linked E. coli - 13 of whom are receiving hospital treatment....."

This time, 32 people in 11 states have been struck down by lettuce-linked E. coli - 13 of whom are receiving hospital treatment. The CDC told anyone with romaine at home to throw it away


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

FDA Official Gives Update on E. Coli Outbreak, But You Shouldn't Eat Romaine Lettuce Just Yet
By Catie Keck/ Health/ Gizmodo/ gizmodo.com

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning earlier this week not to eat romaine lettuce of any kind as the result of a new E. coli outbreak that has sicked more than two dozen people across 11 states.

Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, tweeted Thursday that the FDA was working closely with other government agencies to determine the source of the E. coli outbreak, but he noted that it was “likely that the implicated produce is from California.” Gottlieb also said that part of the reason such a sweeping warning against consuming any romaine products was issued was in part because of difficult-to-distinguish labeling as well as the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Some lettuce packing is labeled in a way that doesn’t make it clear where the product was grown. If you look at a package of lettuce, it’s most likely going to have the address of the company on the back; not the location of the growing fields,” Gottlieb said. “That’s a large part of why we issued such a broad warning. Our ultimate goal is the protection of consumers. And entering into a holiday weekend that’s very food-centric, we felt the need to make this statement.”

The current E. coli outbreak has sickened 32 people since early October, with 13 hospitalizations and one person reportedly developing a type of kidney failure. The CDC advised against eating “any romaine lettuce, including whole heads and hearts, chopped, organic and salad mixes with romaine until we learn more,” adding that you should definitely chuck it if there is any uncertainty......"

Image: Justin Sullivan (Getty)


Richard

 

[VacationForever]

The Romaine Empire has fallen ! Caesar is dead ! Lettuce pray !

 

[WinniWoman]

I just saw an article that said they are saying it is ok to eat it now. SMH...

 

[pedro47]

I can remember the cranberry scare . This year it was the turkey and Romaine lettuce problem.

Why does these problems always surface during a holiday season?

Did we have E Colic problems between 1950 & 1999 ? Was the CDC agency monitoring these problems or did they ignore these problems in their infancy years in notifying the general public.

 

[controller1]

I just saw an article that said they are saying it is ok to eat it now. SMH...

The CDC has indicated Romaine lettuce is safe to eat as long as it was not grown in Central California. The problem for the consumer is trying to determine where the lettuce was grown. Some packages don't show this information.

 

[bluehende]

The CDC has indicated Romaine lettuce is safe to eat as long as it was not grown in Central California. The problem for the consumer is trying to determine where the lettuce was grown. Some packages don't show this information.

One thing is an address on the package may often refer to the address of the company not the address of the grower.

 

[MULTIZ321]

The CDC Says California Is the Source of E. Coli-Contaminated Romaine Lettuce
By Theresa Tamkins/ Health/ BuzzFeed News/ buzzfeednews.com

"Some romaine lettuce is safe to eat, but only if you know for sure it wasn't grown in the central and northern coastal regions of California.

There's an ongoing outbreak of E. coli–related illness linked to romaine lettuce, and 43 people in 12 states have gotten sick.

Last week the CDC cautioned people not to eat romaine lettuce of any kind because it might be contaminated with a dangerous type of E. coli bacteria.

However, the CDC reported on Monday that some types of romaine lettuce are safe to eat because they've traced the contamination to the central and northern coastal growing regions in California.

That means that romaine lettuce from other areas — including Florida, Mexico, and the desert growing regions of Yuma, Arizona — is safe for consumption. And romaine from other parts of California is fine too, according to the CDC, including the desert growing regions near Imperial County and Riverside County. Hydroponic or greenhouse-grown romaine lettuce has not been implicated in the outbreak.

The tricky part might be identifying the growing region, as not all romaine lettuce has that information on the label. If the food label doesn't explicitly say it was grown in a "safe" region, then throw it away, the federal agency said.

CDC / Via cdc.gov

Notice that New York State is on the list with 4-7 ill people.


Richard

 

[WinniWoman]

As I recall the last time it was Yuma, Arizona that was the culprit.

 

[clifffaith]

Last Tuesday when the romaine warning hit during the noon news, I posted on Nextdoor about it. I had a brand new unopened bag bought Monday, and for the life of me couldn't put my hands on the receipt. So I mentioned I was taking it back to Vons after the Thanksgiving rush. One poster, a retired nurse, came unglued and said I'd have to decontaminate my car and would put store employees at risk. I basically ignored her. So on Saturday when I was waiting my turn at the store manager's desk, romaine in hand, someone came in and handed her a wallet he'd just found in a shopping cart. So I got home and started a new post on Nextdoor that I'd seen the wallet turned in if anyone was missing one, and mentioned I'd been waiting to return my lettuce. Nurse popped out of the woodwork to harangue me. Um, lady, the sign on the manager's cash register and on the front door said return for refund. If I'd had my receipt I would have already trashed the romaine and would have just handed her my receipt. By God, I wanted my $3.50 back, and as it was I spent $70 more while in the store!

 

[VegasBella]

E coli 0157:h7 is normally mostly found in the intestines of cows. It doesn't really 'naturally' live much elsewhere. So whenever a food is contaminated with e coli 0157:h7 (the one that makes humans sick) then the original source is nearly always cattle.

What often happens is that the cattle defecation pollutes water ways and the contaminated water then contaminates crops. Sometimes it's due to using feces as fertilizer and rarely it's wild animals leaving little presents. Nearly all ground beef is contaminated with it, which is why ground beef has all those warnings about properly cooking it.

The rates of contamination as well as the size of outbreaks is correlated with the growth of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) aka 'factory farms.'

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/02/health/e-coli-lettuce-explainer/index.html

https://www.foodpolitics.com/2018/1...break-caused-by-contaminated-romaine-lettuce/

https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/n...ink-between-factory-farms-and-tainted-lettuce

 

[MULTIZ321]

Farmer's Frustrated After Tainted Romaine Tied to Central Coast
By John Woolfolk/ News/ California News/ The Mercury News/ mercurynews.com

"E. coli outbreak triggers memories of deadly outbreak tied to spinach in 2006

SALINAS — Lettuce is king on California’s Central Coast, where row crops and produce stands line the roadways in a region that boasts of being the Salad Bowl of the World.

So it struck deep when federal authorities this week linked a rash of severe bacterial infections to romaine lettuce from California’s Central Coast. Now farmers who adopted a host of safety measures after local spinach was tied to a deadly 2006 outbreak fear another battle to win back consumers’ trust.

“It’s been frustrating,” said Jim Bogart, president of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, an agricultural trade group. “It’s had a significant impact on all growers, shippers, distributors and producers of romaine lettuce, not just here in California but across the nation. There’s certainly apprehension.”

The anxiety has been growing since the Food and Drug Administration warned Nov. 20 that it was investigating an illness outbreak from a virulent strain of E. coli bacteria linked to romaine lettuce that has since sickened at least 43 people in 12 states. The FDA at the time advised consumers to avoid all romaine lettuce and urged producers to pull their product. The intestinal bacteria can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, kidney failure and death.

On Monday, the FDA said that while the source has yet to be identified, “current evidence indicates this romaine was harvested in the Central Coast growing regions of northern and central California” and that romaine grown elsewhere or indoors should be safe.

Along the Central Coast, the romaine already has been harvested, as production shifts in the winter to the desert regions of southern California, Arizona, Florida and Mexico. But with producers pulling their product, it’s left a hole in the lives of a community that loves its lettuce.

At the Barn Fresh Produce stand along Highway 1 in Moss Landing, Maria Gonzales hasn’t seen a romaine shipment in two weeks and worries that “sales will go down.” And Katie Coo, a Cal State Monterey Bay student from Seaside, is growing uneasy about the lack of lettuce to fill her craving.

“All I’ve wanted lately is salad, but it sucks because there is none,” Coo said. “Even the mixed greens have romaine.”....."

SALINAS, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 27: A tractor pulls out of an agricultural field near a large portrait of a field hand by artist John Cerney on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, in Salinas, Calif., Health authorities have targeted Monterey County as the probable source of E. coli-tainted romaine lettuce. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)


Richard

 

[MULTIZ321]

More People Sickened By Romaine Lettuce Amid E. Coli Outbreak, CDC Reports
By Ashley May/ USA Today/ News/ Health/ usatoday.com

"Nine more people have become sick after eating romaine lettuce amid an E. coli outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The total of people infected is now 52 across 15 states, the CDC said Thursday. Illnesses were reported between Oct. 5 and Nov. 18.

The highest number of cases have been reported in California and New Jersey, each reporting 11 people sick. Seven people in Michigan, and six each in New Hampshire and New York were reported. Other states affected include: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Nineteen people have been hospitalized, including two who suffered from kidney failure. No deaths have been linked to the outbreak.

Health officials in Canada are investigating an additional 27 cases....."

(Photo: Juanmonino / Getty Images)


Richard

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

The rates of contamination as well as the size of outbreaks is correlated with the growth of CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) aka 'factory farms.'

I am highly skeptical that any increase in rates of contamination is correlated with the growth of CAFO operations. Cattle manure has been used for centuries, if not longer, for crop fertilization. Which means that E. coli contamination via cattle manure has been around for centuries.

What is different with CAFOs?

One is that the potential size of outbreaks is larger. As mentioned upthread, the probability of detecting an outbreak increases as the size of the outbreak is larger. So one contamination event associated with a CAFO operation that is linked with several hundred cases is more likely to be detected than 100 miscellaneous outbreaks associated with contaminated vegetables sold at farmers markets that each sicken 10 to 20 people.

A second likely factor is that in days of yore, with common exposure to E coli via food and water, people had developed resistance to E. coli. You either built resistance to contaminated food and water, or you died while an infant or small child due gastrointestinal disorders. This is still the situation in many parts of the world - you travel there and you drink the water or you eat uncooked food, you get sick, and not infrequently sick enough to die without medical intervention. Meanwhile the local people (all of whom survived childhood) can consume those items without ill effect.

With our society having made vast strides in improving the safety of foods and beverages, when a dangerous microbe does get into the food chain, our bodies are ill-equipped to resist.

********

Note that if you insist on eating foods that have been produced without the use of artificial chemicals and fertilizers, there's a very high likelihood you will be eating food that has been fertilized with animal waste. That's just part of sustainable organic agriculture.

 

[PigsDad]

Note that if you insist on eating foods that have been produced without the use of artificial chemicals and fertilizers, there's a very high likelihood you will be eating food that has been fertilized with animal waste. That's just part of sustainable organic agriculture.

Excellent point. Makes you think twice about choosing "organic" produce. As having a background in farming, I personally have no issue with the "artificial" fertilizers (which really aren't artificial at all, just processed).

Kurt

 

[VegasBella]

I am highly skeptical that any increase in rates of contamination is correlated with the growth of CAFO operations. Cattle manure has been used for centuries, if not longer, for crop fertilization. Which means that E. coli contamination via cattle manure has been around for centuries.

What is different with CAFOs?

I provided three sources that go into detail to explain the claim I made. Perhaps you could read one of those.

It's not that the manure is used for fertilization. The issue is that the manure pollutes water-ways. CAFOs have so much waste that they create manure lagoons. These lagoons are largely unregulated pools of waste and they easily pollute groundwater and nearby water-ways. There is so much manure that they can't re-purpose all of it for fertilizer, they just try to dispose of it and the ways they dispose of it are NOT safe.

The other issue is that intense, close confinement of animals increases the rates at which bacteria transfer and mutate, making deadly zoonoic pathogens much more likely.

Please read this: https://nfu.org/2015/10/30/water-pollution-concerns-surround-cafos/

https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/l...rts/industrial_agriculture/pcifapfinalpdf.pdf

thank you

 

[WinniWoman]

All I know is there was no Romaine lettuce to be found when I went to the supermarket last week. And it is something I eat almost every day.

 

[WinniWoman]

We can't eat fresh spinach either? That is what I bought last week instead. SMH...

 

[bluehende]

We can't eat fresh spinach either? That is what I bought last week instead. SMH...

Is this a new recall?

 

[WinniWoman]

Is this a new recall?

Scratch that. I thought Richards article about Spinach was a new one, but was from 2006.

 

[MULTIZ321]

More California salad contaminated by E. coli bacteria, CDC says.


https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-09/salad-e-coli-bacteria-contamination.


Richard

 

[pedro47]

Are anyone testing the water levels from various farms that are growing Romaine lettuce in California?

 

[MULTIZ321]

The CDC is urging consumers to discard their salad kits after peoplewere sickened with E. coli.


https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/10/health/e-coli-cdc-warning-salad-kits-trnd/


Richard