CDC warns against chopped romaine

E. coli outbreak in 16 states traced to spoiled lettuce

Public health officials are warning consumers not to eat store-bought, chopped romaine lettuce as an E. coli outbreak linked to the vegetable worsens.

Fifty-three related E. coli infections have been reported in 16 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the past several days, 18 new cases have been added to the CDC’s investigation, including some in states where E. coli illnesses hadn’t yet been reported. Additionally, the CDC said, “nine more hospitalizations have been reported, including two people who developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.”

The CDC said the exact source of the tainted lettuce hasn’t been identified, but that “information collected to date indicates that chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Ariz. growing region could be contaminated ... and could make people sick.”

“Consumers anywhere in the United States who have store-bought chopped romaine lettuce at home, including salads and salad mixes containing chopped romaine lettuce, should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick,” the CDC said. “If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.”

The health agency added: “Before purchasing romaine lettuce at a grocery store or eating it at a restaurant, confirm with the store or restaurant that it is not chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Ariz., growing region. If you cannot confirm the source of the romaine lettuce, do not buy it or eat it.”

New cases were reported to the CDC in Arizona, Alaska, California, Montana and Louisiana. Previously, the E. coli reports had been centered in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, from Connecticut to Michigan. A 66-yearold woman in New Jersey, Louise Fraser, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court against Panera Bread, after claiming she ate contaminated lettuce.