Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are saying it is safe to eat romaine lettuce again after a deadly E. coli outbreak infected 172 people in 32 states.
E. coli update: The last romaine lettuce shipments from the Yuma growing region were harvested on April 16 and are now past their 21-day shelf life. The romaine lettuce being sold and served today is NOT the romaine linked to illnesses. https://t.co/OVzp31mVqi pic.twitter.com/NQLH5elQxL
— CDC (@CDCgov) May 16, 2018
The CDC claimed the romaine lettuce linked to the outbreak is no longer sold in stores and served in restaurants because the last time the tainted lettuce from Yuma, Arizona, was harvested was April 16. Officials say because of romaine lettuce’s three-week shelf life, it should no longer be connected to the illnesses.
The agency announced Wednesday the number of people who fell ill from the E. coli strain is 172, spread across 32 states.
At least 75 were sent to the hospital, with 20 of those receiving treatment for kidney failure. One person in California died from the outbreak. The first case of the outbreak was discovered March 13, and CDC officials spent time trying to track down the source of the contamination.
Officials say there is a two-to-three-week period between when a person gets sick and an illness is reported to the CDC.
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