Late last week Consumer Reports issued a warning to not eat romaine lettuce.
“Over the past seven weeks, 59 people in the U.S. and Canada have become ill from a dangerous strain of E. coli bacteria, likely from eating romaine lettuce. In the U.S., the infections have occurred in 13 states (California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington state). Five people in the U.S. have been hospitalized and one has died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There has also been one death in Canada.”
The Centers for Disease Control confirmed that the strain of E. coli detected in the U.S. is “a virtual genetic match” with the one that has caused illnesses in Canada.
You have no doubt heard this news already from your usual news sources, but I just want to add my two cents.
A reader sent me a comment from an organic farmer. He said
They say “all romaine” and can’t figure out why that is. Well, they answer it in the third paragraph:
“Until the cause of the current outbreak is known and the implicated food is removed from the supply chain, CR’s experts say consumers should avoid eating any romaine lettuce.”
The problem is the supply chain, the global food system that mixes produce from dozens or hundreds of farms together, including lots of lettuce grown overseas. All it takes is one farm doing things wrong and all romaine lettuce becomes deadly.
Please buy locally grown romaine at the farmers market and eat it with gusto.
I wanted to comment on this because I usually don’t buy romaine lettuce from the supply chain. My number one source of lettuce is my local organic farmer’s market. All their lettuce comes from their own farm. It’s not contaminated.
If lettuce is out of season (as it is now) I eat other greens or buy organic lettuce at a local produce market that does get their produce from the organic supply chain.
I hardly ever buy romaine anyway. I prefer a mix of red and green leaf lettuces.
But Larry’s family (who we live with) always buys romaine lettuce in a plastic bag at the supermarket. I’m happy to report that this warning resulted in the purchase of red leaf lettuce. No plastic bag.
If you eat romaine lettuce, please take this warning as an opportunity to explore local organic sources and other delicious lettuces.
FOOD SAFETY NEWS: Consumer Reports warns against eating any romaine lettuce
Does that includes organic Romaine? We eat it several times a week.
I would not eat organic romaine unless you buy it at a farmer’s market because of possible supply chain contamination.
Or ask your local store where you purchase it where the lettuce comes from and decide from there.
I just don’t see how locally grown organic lettuce is really better as far as risk of contamination. I understand it might be more traceable. But for example here in Utah we have a hepatitis a outbreak-I’d be worried about produce harvested here at the moment.
Yes, I would be concerned about that too. Another reason for backyard organic gardening.
Having purchased a head of organic Romaine lettuce before reading about this problem last week, I had to decide whether to throw it out. We don’t have a farmers market this time of year so buying local was not an option. My husband thinks that in general organic produce is less likely to be contaminated in situations like this. Do you agree?
BTW — I decided to use the lettuce and we did not get sick.
I do agree organic produce in general is less likely to be contaminated.
A warning like this does not mean that you WILL get sick if you eat it, they are saying there is a possibility and any given sample is unknown. It’s Russian roulette.