The CDC tells people to stop eating and throw away all romaine lettuce - again - after another E. coli outbreak sickens at least 32 people in 11 states
- Romaine lettuce is off the menu, as the CDC advises people across the United States not to eat any of the lettuce and to get rid of any they have already purchased.
- At least 32 people have been infected with E. coli linked to romaine lettuce in 11 states, according to the CDC. Thirteen people have been hospitalized.
- This is the second E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce so far in 2018, following an outbreak that sickened more than 190 people and killed five at the beginning of the year.
Romaine lettuce is off the menu this Thanksgiving, as another E. coli investigation sweeps the United States.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a food safety alert, warning people across the United States to stop eating romaine lettuce and to get rid of any they may have already been purchased.
"CDC is advising that US consumers not eat any romaine lettuce, and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any, until we learn more about the outbreak," the CDC said in a statement.
At least 32 people have been infected with E. coli in 11 states, according to the CDC. Thirteen people have been hospitalized, with the illnesses starting on dates ranging throughout October.
The CDC has not identified any "common grower, supplier, distributor, or brand of romaine lettuce." As a result, people across the entire US are advised to not eat any type of romaine lettuce.
The outbreak is considered completely different from the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak that swept the US earlier this year, as the E. coli bacteria have a different fingerprint. The previous outbreak killed five people and sickened more than 190.
Read more: A deadly E. coli outbreak killed 5 people across 4 US states, according to new numbers
Instead, the bacteria share a fingerprint with 2017 E. coli outbreaks tied to leafy greens in the US and romaine lettuce in Canada.
Romaine lettuce and other raw vegetables are seen as some of the riskiest options around when it comes to food safety.
"I'd eat sushi before I ate a salad," food-poisoning expert Bill Marler told Business Insider earlier this year. "I wouldn't eat it at a 7-11, but I've eaten sushi at a good sushi restaurant."
While cooking veggies and meat can kill germs, salads bring together a lot of raw foods that have had countless opportunities for contamination. Restaurants that buy pre-chopped lettuce from suppliers put themselves at even greater risk.