CDC WARNING: Don't Eat Romaine Lettuce

WITZ Radio News is an affiliate of Network Indiana

STATEWIDE -- The CDC has a few words of advice for salad lovers everywhere: Don't eat the romaine!

You should not buy or eat romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it was not grown near Yuma, Arizona.

The previous warning, which was only for chopped form of romaine, has expanded to include:

- Whole heads of romaine

- Hearts of romaine

- Chopped romaine

- Salads and salad mixes containing romaine

The CDC says the E.coli outbreak has sickened 53 people in 16 states. 31 people have been hospitalized, and five have developed kidney failure.

The agency says product labels do not usually identify the growing regions, thus making it difficult for consumers to know where the lettuce came from.

The best way to avoid falling ill is to throw away any store-bought romaine you have at home, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. If you do not know if a salad you receive in a restaurant contains romaine, do not eat it.

Find out more at www.cdc.gov.