Alert: Chopped Romaine Lettuce Linked To E. coli Outbreak

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The CDC has not yet identified a common grower, supplier, distributor or brand.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that a multistate E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly 3 dozen people is linked to lettuce grown in Arizona.

The CDC said last Friday that 35 people across 11 states have become ill from chopped romaine lettuce from Yuma.

22 of them have been hospitalized, including three with kidney failure. No deaths have been reported.

The agency has not identified a common grower, supplier, distributor or brand.

However, officials advise that consumers, restaurants and retailers should throw out any chopped romaine lettuce that came from the Yuma area.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting.

Yuma is about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of Phoenix. Yuma bills itself as the “winter lettuce capital” and hosts an annual Lettuce Festival.

This is separate from an E. coli outbreak in December and January linked to leafy greens or romaine, which caused dozens of illnesses in the U.S. and Canada and killed at least one person.

The CDC declared that outbreak — its source was not identified in the U.S. — over in January.