On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an advisory warning consumers and retailers not to eat or sell any romaine lettuce harvested in the Salinas, CA growing region. 

The warning includes all types of romaine lettuce originating from the Salinas area—whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and packages of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad. The agency says that romaine lettuce products are labeled with a harvest location showing where they were grown. CDC advises that if you don’t know if the lettuce you have in your possession is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, don’t eat it, and throw it away.

As of Friday, 40 cases of Escherichia coli O157:H7 illnesses had been confirmed in 16 states. Twenty-eight of those people had to be hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

This outbreak is caused by the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 that caused outbreaks linked to leafy greens in 2017 and to romaine lettuce in 2018.

Related stories:
Sudden Recall Issued for Expired Romaine Lettuce Salads Linked to E. coli Illnesses 
Cluster of E. coli Illnesses in Maryland Linked to Romaine Lettuce Salads