This salad green is likely the cause of recent cases of E. coli food poisoning.
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Over the past seven weeks, 58 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.
Canadian health authorities identified
romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak in Canada, and are
advising people in the country’s eastern provinces to consider
eating other types of salad greens until further notice. In the
U. S., government health officials are investigating the
outbreaks, but have stopped short of recommending people avoid
romaine lettuce or any other food.
This strain of E. coli (0157:H7) produces a toxin that
in some cases can lead to serious illness, kidney failure, and
even death.
That’s why Consumer Reports’ food safety experts are advising
that consumers stop eating romaine lettuce until the cause of the outbreak
is identified and the offending product is removed from store
shelves.
“Even though we can’t say with 100 percent certainty that romaine
lettuce is the cause of the E. coli outbreak in the U. S., a
greater degree of caution is appropriate given that lettuce is
almost always consumed raw,” says James Rogers, Ph. D., Director
of Food Safety and Research at Consumer Reports.
While anyone can get sick if they are infected
with E. coli 0157:H7, young children, the elderly, and anyone who
has a condition (such as cancer or diabetes) that weakens the
immune system are at greater risk. “People in these groups should
be particularly vigilant about avoiding romaine lettuce,” says
Rogers.
What U. S. Health Authorities Are Doing
The CDC announced last week in a press release that, along with
the FDA, it is investigating the E. coli infections in the U. S.
According to the agency, the type of E. coli making people sick
is genetically similar to the bacteria involved in the Canadian
outbreak. Still, the agency says it does not have enough
information to recommend people in the U. S. avoid a particular
food.
“There is not enough epidemiologic evidence at this time to
indicate a specific source of the illnesses in the United
States,” says Brittany Behm, MPH, a CDC spokesperson. “Although
some sick people reported eating romaine lettuce,
preliminary data available at this time shows they were not more
likely than healthy people to have eaten romaine, based on a CDC
food consumption survey.” Health officials, Behm says, take
action when there is clear and convincing information linking
illness to a contaminated food.
“The FDA should follow the lead of the Canadian government and
immediately warn the public about this risk,“ says Jean Halloran,
Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union, the
policy and mobilization division of Consumer Reports.
“The available data strongly suggest that romaine lettuce is the
source of the U. S. outbreak,” she says. “If so, and people aren’t
warned, more may get sick.”
Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA has the
authority to recall a hazardous food if a company fails to do so,
but in this case health authorities have not yet identified the
specific source of the outbreak. However, nothing prohibits
health authorities from issuing a general warning in situations
like this one with romaine lettuce.
And even if there was a product to recall, Halloran notes that it
may take awhile before there is any company or FDA action.
According to a report released in December by the Inspector
General’s office at the U. S. Department of Health and Human
Services, the FDA has at times been slow to secure recalls, which
may be voluntary or mandatory. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb
said in a statement that the report raised
some “signficant concerns” and that while the FDA has addressed
many of the issues raised in the report, “we still have more work
to do.”
“FDA needs to act promptly to protect consumers’ health. People
could eat a lot of potentially contaminated romaine while waiting
for a company recall or for the CDC and FDA to identify the
specific source of the outbreak and order a mandatory recall of
the affected products,” Halloran explains.
How Lettuce Becomes Tainted
Outbreaks of toxin-producing E. coli are more typically linked to
beef (the bacteria can get into the meat during slaughter and
processing), especially ground beef, but infections from produce
are not unheard of. Leafy greens, including romaine lettuce, were
the cause of outbreaks from E. coli 0157:H7 in 2006,2011,2012,
and 2013.
“ Vegetables can be contaminated if animal
feces are in the field or in irrigation or washing water,” says
Rogers, “The bacteria can also be transmitted if a person who is
carrying the bacteria doesn’t wash his or her hands after using the
bathroom and then processes or prepares food.”
Washing your greens is a good idea, but won’t necessarily get rid
of dangerous E. coli, which can cling to nooks and crannies in
the leaves, Rogers notes.
What You Should Do Now
Neither the CDC or Canadian health officials have provided any
information on where the romaine lettuce potentially involved in
the illnesses was grown or processed, so for now, assume that any
romaine lettuce, even when sold in bags and packages, could
possibly be contaminated, Rogers says. Don’t buy romaine lettuce
and don’t use any that you may have in your refrigerator until
there is more information on the source of contamination. In
their warning, the Canadian health officials noted that romaine
lettuce can have a shelf life of up to five weeks, so lettuce you
purchased a few weeks ago could still be contaminated.
Check salad blends and mixes, too, and avoid those
that contain romaine.
