Is It Safe to Eat Romaine Again?
When Is Information technology Safe to Eat Salad Over again?
Updated Friday April 20, 4 p.m. , from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Based on new data, the C.D.C. is expanding its alert to consumers to cover all types of romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Ariz. growing region. This warning now includes whole heads and hearts of romaine lettuce, in add-on to chopped romaine and salads and salad mixes containing romaine.
For lovers of leafy greens, these are not salad days. A multistate outbreak of East. coli infections has been linked to bags of chopped romaine lettuce, and data from different sources about the risk has been confusing, making many of us scared to eat salad.
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the outbreak has grown to 53 cases in xvi states — that'southward 18 more than sick people since Apr 13. Fortunately nobody has died, but virtually lxx percentage of those infected have been hospitalized with a nasty toxin-producing strain of Due east. coli, and several have adult kidney failure.
The C.D.C. has non identified the exact source of the outbreak, but experts suspect that it came from the Yuma, Ariz. region. As a result, the agency is advising consumers to avoid all bagged, chopped romaine lettuce in grocery stores and restaurants that was grown at that place.
But here'southward the catch. Bagged salad doesn't typically list the region where it was grown and processed. And most of the cases so far have come from restaurants. And lots of leafy greens look akin. How do you even know if your bag of mixed greens contains romaine?
Both the C.D.C. and Consumer Reports hold that if yous don't know for certain what'south in your salad, don't eat it. Just Consumer Reports thinks the C.D.C.'s advice is "impractical" and is now urging consumers to avert all romaine lettuce, whether information technology is bagged or non.
"Are you really supposed to say to the waiter who serves you Caesar salad, 'Can you tell me where the romaine lettuce was obtained?'" said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Marriage, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. "It'due south completely unreasonable and unrealistic to think consumers may be able to sort out whether the romaine they consume at a restaurant or buy at a store comes from Yuma, Ariz., or someplace else. The prudent thing to do at this betoken is to avert all romaine."
And then why is this outbreak so serious, and when can we safely swallow Caesar salad again? Here are answers to some of your most pressing questions near leafy greens and nutrient safety.
What's so special virtually Arizona?
Here's a little salad trivia for yous. Most of the bagged romaine grown in North America for grocery stores and restaurants comes from Salinas Valley in California. But in tardily fall and wintertime, the industry moves to Yuma, Ariz. Given the time frame of the outbreak, information technology's pretty clear that the infected romaine must accept come from Yuma, just other than that, petty is known about the source of the outbreak. It'south near probable from an animal (moo-cow, deer or wild grunter). It could have come up from an animal defecating in a field or water runoff contaminated with E. coli. The good news is that this month, most of the industry's bagged romaine production has shifted back to California. Notwithstanding, it'southward likely that Yuma-sourced bagged romaine is still in the food supply.
When can I start eating bagged romaine again?
Lettuce has a short shelf life and a lot of retailers take taken bagged romaine off shelves. "Hopefully with it being in i particular growing region and that region moving to California, it won't be too much longer," said Laura Gieraltowski, who leads the C.D.C.'southward food-borne outbreak response squad. That said, she urged consumers to expect for the all-clear from the C.D.C. earlier eating chopped romaine.
"It'southward a fast-moving outbreak," she said. "Nosotros're getting reports of new illness daily from our land and local health departments."
Why is this outbreak so worrisome?
Escherichia coli is in our intestines, the environment, foods and animals, simply almost of the fourth dimension it doesn't brand you sick. Withal, this particular strain — Shiga toxin-producing E. coli 0157:H7 — is particularly dangerous. Symptoms announced from i to ten days after eating and tin can vary, but may include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and airsickness. While the people afflicted range in age from 10 to 85 years, the median age is 34 — meaning the bug is making otherwise salubrious, strong people really sick. The hospitalization rate for E. coli disease is typically effectually 30 percent, but this strain has put 67 percent of the cases in the hospital. Five people have adult hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. Given delays in reporting, those numbers are expected to grow.
The other concern is that unlike a recent multistate outbreak of salmonella in eggs, which resulted in a call back of a specific egg product, no specific grower, supplier or brand has been identified every bit the source of the romaine outbreak.
Where has the outbreak occurred?
Infections linked to the outbreak take been found in xvi states, illustrating how widely bags of romaine are distributed around the state. Yous can find a list of states where cases have been reported on the C.D.C. website. Nigh of the reported cases have come from Pennsylvania (12), Idaho (x), New Jersey (vii), Montana (half-dozen) and Arizona (three). New York, Connecticut, Ohio and Michigan accept had 2 cases each, with one case each in Alaska, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state.
How do I know if the greens I'yard eating contain romaine?
Most people tin can't reliably distinguish romaine from other forms of lettuce, Ms. Halloran said. A caput of romaine lettuce is more oblong than the round shape typical of iceberg. "It'due south the ane with the pointy football shape," Ms. Halloran said. "When it's chopped upward y'all're non going to see that. It's a fleck crunchier and chewier than bibb lettuce. The outer leaves are dark green and the inner leaves are yellow and then color isn't going to tell you. If you've had Caesar salad yous've almost certainly had romaine lettuce."
Why does the C.D.C. say it'southward O.M. to eat heads and hearts of romaine, simply not bagged?
The documented cases have been linked to bagged romaine eaten at dwelling or in restaurants, not full heads or hearts of lettuce. The lettuce at the source of the outbreak is grown in Arizona for bagged use. The C.D.C. suggests that the contamination is express to some office of the bagged lettuce supply chain.
Volition washing my lettuce lower my risk?
It only takes a few cells of E. coli to make you lot sick, so while washing produce lowers the risk, it doesn't eliminate information technology entirely.
If you have bagged romaine lettuce, throw it away; washing it is no guarantee that yous will get rid of the toxins. And while the C.D.C. recommends washing all produce with water, including heads of lettuce, it does not recommend washing other forms of bagged lettuce, which has already been washed before bagging. "Your chances of contaminating it in your kitchen" — with contaminants that may already be on your kitchen countertop, hands or elsewhere — "are actually higher than if y'all didn't wash the salad greens," notes Dr. Gieraltowski.
If you're preparing a head of lettuce, you lot may consider taking extra steps to clean it, such as discarding the outer leaves and washing the inner leaves. "If I buy a full head of lettuce in a shop, I know a lot of different people take been touching information technology," says Juan Leon, acquaintance professor of global health and food safety good at Emory Academy.
What is the best way to launder produce?
Most of the fourth dimension rinsing produce nether running water is sufficient. Commercial fruit and vegetable washes are mostly water and oasis't been shown to be more effective than water lonely, say several experts. Some people use white vinegar or even a light bleach solution, simply the C.D.C. and nutrient safety experts say there's no evidence that will lower risk, and at the run a risk of stating the obvious, it's generally a bad thought to use bleach in home nutrient preparation.
Dr. Leon says to use common sense. Don't hold a infant while preparing nutrient. Wash easily earlier handling produce. Don't handle meat and produce in the same spot.
Take extra care with produce that has a rough surface. "Crude surfaces like to capture pathogens," Dr. Leon said. He uses a produce brush to scrub fruits and vegetables and cleans the brush in the dishwasher. Notation that certain foods — sprouts, herbs like parsley and cilantro, raspberries and melons — are more at run a risk for becoming contaminated with pathogens like Due east. coli. He always scrubs the outside of a cantaloupe before cutting it with a knife.
Produce that is eaten raw presents an increased take a chance; the rut of cooking can lower the risk.
Dr. Leon also notes that the uncomplicated pick of eating at home can lower risk. "When you lot eat in is when you have the most control," he said. "When you consume out you lose command not just of the produce being used but all the other steps of people handling and cooking for you, the h2o, the cleanliness. There are a lot more things that can become wrong."
Is information technology safer to buy leafy greens and produce at a farmers' market place?
Big growers are subject to more wellness regulations than small farms. At the aforementioned time, in that location are fewer steps from subcontract to tabular array when you purchase from a small grower. "We don't know the answer," says LeeAnn Jaykus, professor of food microbiology at North Carolina Land University. "You don't accept regulations that are forcing those farmers to adhere to certain practices. At the same time, a lot of them do, and they are doing much smaller agriculture so they accept greater control of what they are doing."
If I can't have my usual Caesar salad with romaine, what should I eat?
Ilene Rosen, author of the new book "Saladish" and chef and co-possessor of R&D Foods, a specialty food shop in Brooklyn, said she uses seasonal greens from local farms and currently romaine is not on the menu. Mustard greens, kale and dandelion greens are en route from Lancaster, Pa. A lentil salad includes diced fennel, green tomatoes and sunflower sprouts. The bespeak of "Saladish" is that salad is more than just leafy greens. "In that location can exist grains and protein, a whole wide range of things including international condiments," she said. "Salads can combine so many more than things than greens and dressing."
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/well/eat/romaine-lettuce-salad-food-poisoning-e-coli.html
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