Do Not Eat Romain Lettuce!
Victoria Shanahan
Victoria Shanahan
Recently there has been an outbreak of E. coli that has infected romaine lettuce. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has narrowed the source to growing regions in northern and central California. On Thursday the source had finally been identified. It came from canal water in the Yuma area of Arizona. The FDA said they figured out where it came from when eight inmates at an Alaskan prison got sick and they traced the illness back to lettuce that was harvested from Harrison Farms in the Yuma area.
When the breakout began, a nationwide announcement went out explaining the problem and how to get rid of the lettuce to prevent others from getting sick. All stores were required to dispose of all romaine lettuce and clean the shelves it was sold on, customers were to do the same thing if they had bought the lettuce and were told to clean their refrigerator, and restaurants were to get rid of it and stop selling all products that contained romaine lettuce. When the source had been narrowed down, the lettuce sold had to have a sticker on it identifying where the lettuce was harvested to control the breakout. Mali Price, a student at Hillgrove High School, said, “I go to Panera all the time and get their salads but when I went to get one during the break, they weren't selling them and thank God they caught it before I ate a salad from there.” School’s salad bars were even shut down. Divina Checo, a sophomore at Hillgrove High School, commented on it by saying, “Every day I eat a salad for lunch, but it was shut down the day we got back from Thanksgiving break which was smart because a lot of kids get salad from school and they could have gotten sick.”
This E. coli has been very harmful and as of November 26th, forty-three people have been infected of which sixteen have been hospitalized, one person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (a type of kidney failure) and there has been no deaths. E. coli is a strand of bacteria in which some are harmful and some are not, but the one contaminating the lettuce was. It is not terribly harmful and most people recover in five to seven days. The symptoms are fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are not life threatening but they can get worse if not treated. The source of the E. coli is being tested and cleaned to prevent another breakout and to find the source of the contamination, but luckily the source is being dealt with while having minimal injuries and no deaths so far.
When the breakout began, a nationwide announcement went out explaining the problem and how to get rid of the lettuce to prevent others from getting sick. All stores were required to dispose of all romaine lettuce and clean the shelves it was sold on, customers were to do the same thing if they had bought the lettuce and were told to clean their refrigerator, and restaurants were to get rid of it and stop selling all products that contained romaine lettuce. When the source had been narrowed down, the lettuce sold had to have a sticker on it identifying where the lettuce was harvested to control the breakout. Mali Price, a student at Hillgrove High School, said, “I go to Panera all the time and get their salads but when I went to get one during the break, they weren't selling them and thank God they caught it before I ate a salad from there.” School’s salad bars were even shut down. Divina Checo, a sophomore at Hillgrove High School, commented on it by saying, “Every day I eat a salad for lunch, but it was shut down the day we got back from Thanksgiving break which was smart because a lot of kids get salad from school and they could have gotten sick.”
This E. coli has been very harmful and as of November 26th, forty-three people have been infected of which sixteen have been hospitalized, one person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (a type of kidney failure) and there has been no deaths. E. coli is a strand of bacteria in which some are harmful and some are not, but the one contaminating the lettuce was. It is not terribly harmful and most people recover in five to seven days. The symptoms are fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are not life threatening but they can get worse if not treated. The source of the E. coli is being tested and cleaned to prevent another breakout and to find the source of the contamination, but luckily the source is being dealt with while having minimal injuries and no deaths so far.