CDC warns public to avoid consumption of romaine lettuce

When it comes to contamination in the kitchen, Aristan Eatery owner, Tim Yoa, said he doesn’t mess around.

“Any time there’s an outbreak, no matter if its recalled or not, we get rid of the product and take it off the menu,” Yoa said. “We’re not afraid to say we don’t have it if there’s an issue.”

He said back in March, his business got hit hard with the E.Coli outbreak in romaine lettuce. Now, he is only using locally grown lettuce.

“We threw away about 10 pounds, which in lettuce that’s a lot,” Yoa said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted another nationwide alarm for romaine lettuce, right before Thanksgiving.

It said 32 people are sick and 13 are hospitalized across 11 states and Canada.

“That’s why its very important with produce to take it very seriously,” Betsy Opyt said, a registered licensed dietitian, “because even washing it will not rid it of that e. coli.”

Opyt said that is why it is so important to throw out the lettuce.

“If you do have romaine lettuce in your refrigerator, you should remove it,” Opyt said. “You should remove everything in that drawer area where that lettuce was and clean it all because cross contamination is the number one way to spread it to foods in your refrigerator.”