Check your romaine lettuce if you bought the Tanimura & Antle Field Fresh Wrapped Single Head Romaine. The company has issued a voluntary recall.
A single lot of romaine lettuce is being recalled because it may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteria (E. Coli O157:H7). This product is packed in a plastic bag with the UPC number 0-27918-20314-9 and may have a Best Buy date of “08 19 12”. The product was available at retail locations Aug. 2–Aug. 19. Georgia was one of 19 states (and Puerto Rico) where the affected product was shipped in the United States.
There are no reported illnesses associated with consumption of this product, according to the recall notice on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website. E.coli O157:H7 can cause a diarrheal illness, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.
The recall is being conducted in consultation with the FDA, and is based on the testing of a single random sample by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Consumers with questions or who would like replacement coupons may call at 877-827-7388, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Recalls for E. coli, salmonella and the like are almost always done AFTER someone gets sick, so kudos to this group for issuing a recall beforehand. But since a lot of this batch has already been sold, and most of that has been used already, the big question becomes, how do you avoid getting sick in case the recall gets put out too late? Most of the time, the bacteria are stuck to material on the surface of the produce, rather than inside, so ALWAYS rinse your vegetables thoroughly before you eat or serve them. Running water and perhaps a light scrub brush will normally do the trick, but there are various other 'washes' out there on the internet that you can make cheaply at home, and use safely on your food. Be careful when serving to your bunnies, though: these illnesses can affect rabbits, but it's best just to use plain water in when rinsing their veggies.