E. coli threat in romaine

People should avoid eating romaine lettuce amid an outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli bacteria that has sickened 58 people in the United States — including New York — and Canada, according to Consumer Reports.

The publication and advocacy group called on the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do more to warn people.

Five people have been hospitalized in the US and one has died, according to the CDC. In Canada, one person has died.

Canadian health officials are advising people to eat other salad greens until further notice.

In the US, health authorities are investigat- ing, but have stopped short of recommending people avoid any foods.

Consumer Reports, however, suggests skipping romaine for now.

“Even though we can’t say with 100 percent certainty that romaine lettuce is the cause . . . a greater degree of caution is appropriate given that lettuce is almost always consumed raw,” said James Rogers, director of food safety and research at Consumer Reports.

The CDC said on Dec. 28 that 17 people had been sickened since November. Canadian officials have reported 41 cases.

In addition to New York, the affected states are California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.