Romaine lettuce is safe for consumption, says FDA

It is now safe to eat romaine lettuce, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday.

Health officials said the Roman would be linked to a deadly E. coli outbreak that triggered an alert last week to prevent lettuce from only coming from California's central coast region. The FDA has stated that romaine lettuce from other regions should soon be tagged with harvest dates and regions, so that consumers know that it can be consumed safely.

People should not eat romaine that does not have the information of the label, according to the FDA. For romaine that does not come in packaging, grocery stores and retailers are welcome to post the information in the registry.

The agency warned the public last Tuesday not to eat romaine lettuce after dozens of people were reportedly sick – including some hospitalized – because of a food-related E. coli outbreak.

As of Monday, the FDA has announced that 43 people had fallen ill in 12 states due to the outbreak and another 22 people were ill in Canada.

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. Last week, the FDA advised anyone who owned romaine lettuce at home or in his business to remove and destroy leafy vegetables.