Toss that romaine right in the trash.
Beyond its usual shtick of boring your tastebuds to death, romaine lettuce in any and all forms can actually infect you with E. coli now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. There's a "particularly dangerous" strain of the contamination striking salad bowls everywhere, The Washington Post writes, and the CDC recommends you throw it all out.
Since this most recent E. coli outbreak began in early October, 32 people in 11 states have come down with the strain, says the CDC. Of them, 13 have been hospitalized and one suffered kidney failure. Canada's health department reported another 18 people had fallen ill from the same outbreak as well.
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It romaines to be seen whether one particular grower or strain is causing the infection. So toss out "whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad," the CDC said, as well as any lettuce you're unsure about. Then clean out your fridge and sanitize any shelves the romaine touched — seriously. And don't eat any romaine at restaurants.
This new alert comes in the wake of another E. coli outbreak that killed five people from March to June. So if you were planning make this Thanksgiving a romaine holiday, take a closer look at what you're tossing together.
