When will Romaine Lettuce be safe to eat? Why you might want to avoid it during a baby's birth?
Are you talking about eating lettuce?Many people are considering the multistate outbreak of E. coli that was linked to romaine earlier this month.
As of Sunday, November 26, 43 people in 12 states became ill from the outbreak.
In Canada, another 22 people were affected.The FDA recalled all romaine lettuce because they did not know the origins of the problem.
As a result of the outbreak, the FDA has announced steps to give consumers more information about the origins and harvest dates of lettuce.They are suggesting a voluntary labeling program, which would require growers and distributors to label where romaine was grown and when it was harvest.If the lettuce was grown in a greenhouse, this will be included.They are talking to major producers, distributors, and trade associations about a voluntary labeling program.
The FDA said that romaine lettuce grown outside of a target area is not linked to the recent outbreak.
The FDA told Healthline that lettuce must be labeled with the name of the manufacturing facility or distributor.It doesn't have to state where or when it was grown.Only produce from other countries can carry a label.
The United Fresh Produce Association and the Produce Marketing Association said in a statement that creating a regulation to mandate the label system would require the FDA to go through a formal rulemaking process.All forms of romaine lettuce, including baby romaine and red romaine, would be covered by the label.
According to the statement, it appears that FDA expects that this labeling will be the new normal, so that if there are outbreaks moving forward, FDA can limit advisories to affected regions, and consumers would be able to discern if they had product from a potentially affected area.
Knowing the growing origin of produce will continue to play an important role in allowing consumers to avoid contaminated products and facilitating market withdrawals and tracebacks, FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a statement published Sunday.
According to a professor at Michigan State University, E. coli comes from the field where lettuce is grown.There can be contaminated irrigation water, animals, and other sources.
The majority of E. coli cases on lettuce come from precut varieties.He operates a cutting facility that is researching ways to reduce contamination.
"I don't think fresh-cut produce will ever be 100 percent safe, because the sanitizers are still a problem in spreading contaminants."
Don't wash your lettuce at home if you purchase it.You may be more likely to re-contaminate the lettuce at home if you can't remove the contamination.
Consumers can't do much to identify produce that may be affected by pathogens, according to the executive director of The Partnership for Food Safety Education.They should keep produce chilled and wash their hands when handling it.
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