The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that new information about the illnesses in Alaska led them to expand a warning beyond chopped romaine to include any type of romaine lettuce, including whole heads and hearts of romaine. Romaine lettuce is sometimes packed in the field and shipped directly to restaurants or grocery stores. The different ways that romaine lettuce is harvested could make identifying the specific origin of contamination more difficult, Marler said. Health officials are working to determine “why this strain is causing a higher percentage of hospitalizations,” the notice said. Read more:Thousands of pounds of prepackaged salad mixes may have been tainted with E. coli, officials sayE. coli outbreak spreads as source of tainted lettuce remains mysteryA Chipotle restaurant is closed after another foodborne illness outbreak

Source: Washington Post April 20, 2018 20:54 UTC