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NEW YORK (AP) – It's okay to eat romaine lettuce again, say US health officials. Just check the label.
The Food and Drug Administration has reduced its general warning from last week, stating that people should not eat romaine because of an outbreak of E. Coli. The agency said Monday that the Roman-related epidemic appeared to come from the central California coast region. He said that Romans by the way should soon be labeled with harvest dates and regions, so people know that it is ok to eat.
People should not eat romaine that does not have the information on the label, said the FDA. For romaine that does not come in packaging, grocery stores and retailers are welcome to post the information in the registry.
The Roman harvest has recently begun moving from the central coast of California to winter growing areas, mainly in Arizona, Florida, Mexico and the California imperial valley. These winter regions did not deliver yet when the disease began. The FDA also noted that the romaine grown in hydroponics and the romaine grown in a greenhouse were not involved in the epidemic.
Labeling provisions have been developed, as the commodity industry has asked the FDA to quickly reduce the number of warnings so as not to waste freshly harvested Roman. An industry group said that people could expect to start seeing labels as early as this week. He noted that the labels are optional and that he will check if it is appropriate to extend the measure to other green leafy vegetables and other products.
The FDA said the industry was committed to developing a labeling standard for the Roman and to consider longer-term labeling options for other leafy vegetables.
Robert Whitaker, Scientific Manager of the Produce Marketing Association, said that Roman labeling could help limit the scope of future alerts and restore public confidence after other outbreaks.
"The Romaine as a category had a year that was unfortunate," Whitaker said.
The FDA has still not identified a source of contamination during the last outbreak. No deaths were reported, but health officials said 43 people in 12 states had been sick. Twenty-two people in Canada were also sick.
Although the Roman woman in the Yuma region of Arizona is not involved in the current epidemic, she has been blamed for an epidemic of E. Coli who sickened more than 200 people and killed five. Irrigated irrigation water near a lot of livestock was then identified as a probable source.
Leafy vegetables were also blamed for an outbreak of E. coli. Coli last year. US investigators have never specified the type of green salad to blame for these diseases, which occurred at about the same time of the year as the current outbreak. But Canadian officials have identified Roman as a common source of disease.
The fruit and vegetable sector is aware that the problem is recurrent, said Jennifer McEntire of the United Fresh Produce Association.
"In order for something to happen again this way, you just need an environmental source to persist," she said. "The question is now, can we find it?"
Producers and handlers in the region tightened food security measures after the spring outbreak, the industry said. Steps include expanding buffer zones between livestock yards and production fields. But McEntire said it was unclear how the Roman had been contaminated during the Yuma epidemic. Another possibility, she said, is that the winds carry livestock dust on the products.
McEntire said the industry was considering several theories, especially if there was something about the Roman that makes it more susceptible to contamination. Compared to iceberg lettuce, she noted that her leaves are more open, thus exposing more surface.
As the Roman has a lifespan of about 21 days, health officials said last week that they thought the contaminated Roman might still be on the market or in people.
Epidemics of food poisoning caused by leafy vegetables are not unusual. But after a spinach-related epidemic in 2006, the commodities industry took action that, in his view, would limit large-scale outbreaks, said Timothy Lytton, a law professor at Georgia State University. The epidemic linked to the Roman early in the year questioned the effectiveness of the measures, he said.
But Lytton also noted the risk inherent in products, which are grown in open fields and eaten raw.
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The Health and Science Department of the Associated Press receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Scientific Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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