QUESTION:

Are these viral videos of plastic lettuce real?

ANSWER:

Nope, that translucent film on lettuce is a natural process that occurs when it encounters freezing temperatures.

SOURCES:

John Galvez, Quality Assurance at Markon

U.S. Department of Agriculture- "Shipping Point and Market Inspection instructions"

U.S. Department of Agriculture- "United States Standards for Grades of Lettuce"

PROCESS:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that 84 people across 19 states got sick from E.coli-contaminated lettuce. That is a serious and proven threat.

However, some viral videos claim there's something else to be worried about now: plastic lettuce.

Rumors are going around following the videos of people peeling back a film from Romaine leaves. Hundreds of thousands of people have shared and viewed these videos.

Our experts confirm the translucent parchment they're pulling off isn't plastic.

Our researchers checked with the Department of Agriculture and lettuce grower --Markon.

They say the film is lettuce's response to the cold. Like how your skin gets a sunburn, the lettuce's skin gets frostbite.

Markon's Head of Quality Assurance showed a video of frost-bitten lettuce back in January.

"If you recall in late December, we had one freezing temperature that caused this epidermal blister to form on the inner and outer part of the leaf," John Galvez of Markon explained in the video. "Eventually, we got some warmer weather over the last ten days or so that's caused the blister to expand and open up and discolor."

The USDA says the same thing can happen when the produce is transported. If the leaves get too cold while coming from California or Arizona (where 98 percent of our U.S. lettuce is grown), they can start to grow that filmy white epidermis, too.

We can Verify, nothing nefarious is happening here. Those videos showing 'plastic lettuce'--they're false.