WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — The CDC is urging consumers to throw out all types of romaine lettuce, after a multi-state E. coli outbreak.
This includes whole heads of lettuce, chopped lettuce, salad mixes, and hearts of romaine lettuce, after people in Alaska reported illnesses following the consumptions of whole heads of romaine lettuce.
According to the CDC, you should not buy or eat romaine lettuce at a grocery store or restaurant unless you can confirm it is not from the Yuma, Arizona region. The CDC warns that many product labels do not include the place where the produce is grown and is asking consumers to throw away their packages, even if it’s been eaten already and no illness has occurred.
There have already been 53 cases of E. coli, within 16 states, including Virginia. 31 of those cases have required hospitalization.
According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of E. coli include severe stomach pain, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. In serious cases, patients can develop a type of life-threatening kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. The CDC says of the 31 hospitalizations in this outbreak, 5 people have developed this type of kidney failure.
The CDC says the investigation is ongoing.
