"romaine lettuce" news and stories

The outbreak of E. coli poisoning connected to romaine lettuce has spread to Tennessee, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 23. (There are seven other probable cases associated with the lettuce.) And what's worse, the strain of E. coli involved in the outbreak is rare and difficult to diagnose, so officials think there may be even more cases going unreported.

There have been two recalls of romaine lettuce related to the outbreak, both by distributors who purchased lettuce from the same Yuma, Ariz., farm. Ohio-based Freshway Foods announced a 23-state recall of romaine lettuce last week, while Vaughn Foods of Moore, Okla., announced a recall Monday.

A recall has been issued for romaine lettuce being sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia after an E. coli outbreak has sickened 19 people -- three of them critically so. According to the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that 12 people had been hospitalized, and the CDC is investigating 10 more cases that may be part of the outbreak as well.

Freshway Foods, a company that describes itself as one of the leading regional fresh-cut distributors in the country, sells the romaine under Freshway and Imperial Sysco brand names, and has recalled the produce after the question of a possible link to the E. coli outbreak was raised.

It's hard enough as it is to get the kids to eat their salad. But Tracy Grimes will have an even tougher time getting her 4- and 8-year-old kids to nibble their greens after she says she found a tree frog in a bag of romaine lettuce she bought from a Kroger supermarket in Sterling Heights, Mich., last Friday.

Grimes, of Troy, Mich., told Slashfood she noticed something moving inside the package as she was getting ready to make a salad for dinner.

"I didn't know what I was seeing but sure enough, I looked a little closer and there was a small light green tree frog, happy as can be, crawling around, living life in the bag of lettuce," she said Tuesday. "I just sort of gasped a bit, and then I stared and just remember thinking 'That's not right.'"

Recalled romaine lettuce. Photo: Tanimura & Antle

A California lettuce producer has recalled bulk and wrapped romaine lettuce after a batch tested positive for salmonella.

Tanimura & Antle, Inc. of Salinas, Calif., issued the recall for its Tanimura & Angle wrapped single whole-head romaine lettuce, banded single whole-head romaine lettuce and naked (unwrapped) single whole-head romaine on July 21. The nationwide recall applies to lettuce purchased before July 23.

The move comes after the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture tested positive for salmonella. No illnesses have been reported. The lettuce affected by the recall was harvested between June 25 and July 2, and should be past its shelf life, company officials said.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea and abdominal pain. Anyone with questions about the romaine recall should call Tanimura & Antle at 877-827-7388.

I feel like I'm revealing some deep, dark secret, but here goes: I microwave my salads.

Now, this isn't because I like my lettuce and carrots and salad dressing really hot, it's because of bacteria. I started doing this a couple of years ago, when we had all those recalls and scares involving pre-made bagged salads and spinach. I make my salad on a plate then zap it for about 20 seconds. Just enough to kill something but not make the salad get hot and shrivel.

Now, I have to stress that I have no idea if 20 seconds in the microwave will even do anything to destroy bacteria, but it makes me feel good anyway.

I now return you to your normal Slashfood posts.