You may be able to eat romaine lettuce again, depending on where it came from.
The Food and Drug Administration is urging consumers to avoid romaine that came from the coast of northern and central California, specifically Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura.
Romaine that’s now entering the market will be labeled with a harvest location and a harvest date. If it does not have this information, you should not eat or use it.
Romaine lettuce that was harvested outside of the Central Coast growing regions of northern and central California does not appear to be related to the current outbreak, according to the investigation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that as of December 6, 2018, 52 people in 15 states have become infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli. One of those cases was confirmed in Louisiana. For a map of reported cases in the U.S., click here.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from October 5, 2018 to November 18, 2018. Those reported illnesses have affected people in age from 1 to 84 years. The CDC says that 19 patients have been hospitalized with E. coli, including two people who developed a type of kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.
The CDC says that there may be more cases of E. coli illness reported in the coming weeks. Officials say that the infection takes between two to three weeks to show symptoms in those affected.
Read the full recommendation here.
