Romaine Lettuce Recall information and lettuce alternatives to enjoy while there is an active romaine lettuce recall.
Sorry, no Caesar salad, yet again. It seems every few months we hear about a romaine lettuce recall due to E. Coli.
Multiple people in multiple states are sickened and even hospitalized from eating this nutritious leafy green. The CDC (as well as us) recommends that you toss any romaine lettuce, do not consume it. With all of the recalls on romaine lettuce, it can be a little scary to eat it even when they say it’s safe, after all, we don’t know it’s not safe until someone gets sick from eating contaminated romaine. Then another recall starts, in fact, this isn’t the first romaine lettuce recall of 2018.
Earlier this year the growers in Yuma were the cause of an e coli outbreak from a romaine lettuce recall. Since then they have been extremely careful and vigilant about sanitation protocols. This CDC says that this new recall is a different strain than the one in Yuma Arizona.
Once there’s a recall of the lettuce they have to investigate and this can take quite a bit of time. They have to figure out which grower, supplier, distributor, brands, and stores. It’s quite a process. With all of these recent romaine recalls should we just stop eating salad? No, that would be silly and no donuts and chocolate aren’t a good alternative.
Our suggestions, You can try growing it at home or use these lettuces during the recall.
Can you wash e coli off lettuce?
No, you cannot wash e coli off of the romaine. If you have it at home either throw it away or return it to the store. If you stored it without packaging in the refrigerator you should wash the area thoroughly as well.
What is e coli?
E coli is a bacteria that is commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals. Usually, it causes no harm, but certain strains (like the ones found in the romaine lettuce recall) can cause food poisoning, so severe that hospitalization is required. Those who are older in age and young children are most susceptible to complications. Find more info on the CDC website regarding e coli.
Don’t forget you can add fresh chopped vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, croutons, and even cheese to your salads, this will also increase the nuritional content. You can even make salads without any lettuce at all, like our Cucumber Salad, Shopska Salad, or Israeli Salad.
Romaine Lettuce Alternatives
Wondering “What can I substitute for romaine lettuce?“, here are some leafy green alternatives instead of romaine.
- Red Leaf Lettuce
- Green Leaf Lettuce
- Butter Lettuce
- Kale
- Arugula
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard
- Watercress
- Endive
- Radicchio
- Iceberg
Iceberg lettuce is our last recommendation, but a good alternative if you want the crunch. Iceberg is mostly water and has a very low nutritional value in comparison to the others. If you use iceberg we suggest mixing it with one of the options above.
In conclusion
You should not buy any romaine during an active recall. This also means avoiding contaminated romaine lettuce at restaurants and retailers. Once they have identified where the contaminated romaine lettuce is coming from they will start to release some as safe to eat. But until then it’s not safe to eat any romaine lettuce until the Center for Disease control releases a public announcement about the source of the contaminated romaine lettuce and if others sources are safe to eat.
When it comes to the risk of contamination, romaine lettuce is not the only lettuce that has been recalled, but it has been recalled more frequently than others. The best way to enjoy romaine is growing it on your own or buying from a local trusted farmer.
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