Yes, it happened last year just before Thanksgiving. I bought two packages of Safeway romaine today, cleaned and cut it this afternoon, now it's in the garbage. Not taking chances. I don't want to dig through the garbage can outside to look at the package to see where it's grown. Just went to the Safeway website and it lists the recall, but doesn't say they have removed it from the shelves as of yet. Darn, I was craving a Caesar salad.

I want to thank Bookwoman in my leafy thread and DawninCal here for posting an alert. My Romaine now in the trash was harvested from Salinas and y'all may have saved my life.

That's a bummer about your salad, matti. Geeeeez, Lucille, that's scary. it really makes one question the produce they are buying.

Glad both of you saw the alerts before you consumed any of the lettuce.

Thanks. I just checked ours and it is from Salinas Ca. In the garbage it went. We have eaten some of it with no ill effects but not taking any chances with it.

I like Romaine but haven't bought any since the last recall. What is it with Romaine!!

That is my question--how and why does this keep happening? I am not "set" on any particular green leafy...buy what strikes me at the time..I would not hesitate to make a Cesar salad with a different green...but lettuce just seems an odd host for e coli. Why not something that spoils faster like bread or milk product?

Interesting...I just checked my spring mix and it says on the cover "Does Not Contain Romaine"...I guess they've dealt with this before...

I just purchased a 3 pack of romaine yesterday. Extra errands annoy me this time of year.

There are strict
rules (well enforced, too) about restroom facilities available to field
workers. There are portable units that are required to be within a
short walk for the workers.

Most contamination in recent years has been traced to water sources and wildlife.

Article from 2006

https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/New-focus-on-field-sanitation-E-coli-2551035.php

There are strict rules about hand washing in hospitals too. Unfortunately despite all attempts at enforcement they are simply not well followed. I would be amazed if low paid field workers paid much attention to such rules.

Here, from the article you linked: "The laws are good, but the enforcement is pretty sparse," said United Farm Workers spokesman Marc Grossman. "Cal-OSHA does the enforcement, but they've got a pretty spare staff."".

.."In recent years, more harvesting of salad greens is taking place at night. Crews start work at 1 or 2 a.m., when spinach and lettuce are moist and crisp, but when fields can be slippery with mud and discarded leaves.

"It's dark," said lettuce picker Gilberto Rodriguez, 32. "There are lights at the bathrooms, but sometimes they're far away."

Those conditions lead some labor advocates to wonder whether growers are unwittingly encouraging workers to relieve themselves in out-of-the-way corners of the fields."

Come on, Lucille, the workers know and follow the rules. Like you'd squat in the field in front of a crew of 50 workers and supervisors and the port-a-potties a few feet away? They may be low-paid, but they have dignity and standards just like you do.

Sorry if that sounds harsh.

Not harsh, just naive if you think workers especially lower paid ones who may have little training

know and follow the rules

That is just fantasy for nearly every workplace.

There are port a potties and I'm sure that many do not wash their hands or wash them adequately after using them. Hospital workers do not many times follow hand washing rules either. Food service/restaurant workers often do not wash their hands adequately. We have all seen in public restrooms how some patrons/workers do not wash their hands at all and others use only a token spritz of water, inadequate to prevent the spread of micro organisms.

I'm nervous now. DH and I both had some romaine on a sandwich yesterday for lunch. Didn't know about the recall until last night. I checked our romaine and sure enough it said Salinas CA. I threw it out but now I'm afraid we will end up sick since seeing symptoms can show up anywhere from 1 to 10 days after. Not good with Thanksgiving coming up and a vacation we have planned right after.

The information I saw suggested that the contaminated lettuce was used in prepared, prepackaged salads (like Caesar salad, Southwest salad, etc) only and that had expiration dates of late October and early November. The risk should be long gone. The nature of this suggests the problem was in the salad preparation area, not the growing and harvesting.

Seeing lettuce with a Salinas Valley origin is like seeing wine from the Napa Valley. It doesn't all come from there through the months of the year but much of it does, it's a common origin.

I saw that info too Elmer, but then saw the subsequently dated directive from the CDC that all Salinas romaine should be disposed of. I decided to go ahead and dispose of my $2.48 Salinas romaine I bought just a few days ago just in case. (Walmart has already credited me the $2.48).

Vinmarks, 40 people have been reported ll in 16 states. Considering that tons of lettuce were harvested during the period specified, I'd wager that you will be safe.

And the harvest in the Salinas Valley is essentially over for the season by now, with production moving to the Imperial Valley, Arizona and Mexico until spring.

As I recall, one of last year's recalls was because wild pigs had found a hole in the fence and were invading the field, eating the lettuce and pooping as they went along. The water in the soil was thus contaminated and the plants took up that water and the e coli in it.

Yes, the water and the wildlife. And the fields are rarely if ever fenced. And there are hills and uncultivated areas all around.

Wildlife, exactly! That's the primary source of contamination, I promise you. Irrigation water is collected in ditches and drainage ponds for reuse. Wildlife makes use of that water, too.

Wildlife, yes. As for fresh water ponds, I don't recall seeing many in the Salinas Valley when driving through the area.

There are shallow runoff ditches for irrigation and many fields are close to the river. No real ponds, I don't think.

We were getting ready to go out to eat last night when I heard. Was looking forward to an Italian salad, but opted out even though they were still serving it. Bought buttercrunch and spring mix at the farmers' market this morning.

Hopefully they will find the exact link to and source of the contamination soon.

Be careful about "rivers" too. The main river of area, the Salinas River, is dry much (and sometimes most) of the time. Except after heavy rains and some tidal flow of salt water at its mouth. There are some small spring fed creeks. Emphasis on word "small"

So my lettuce says it was grown in Central Valley CA. That’s not too close to Salinas, correct? Not recalled?

Donuts would not do that to you.

The Central Valley is not the Salinas Valley. Don't worry.

I made a huge Greek salad for dinner the other night using 2 large Romaine hearts and after we ate it that night I saw the news report the lettuce is being recalled in Canada too and called for restaurants to stop serving it, I checked the lettuce packaging and the lettuce we ate was from Salinas CA. I just tossed the remaining heart into the garbage. Buying that package of Romaine was the first time I had purchased Romaine in a long time because all the issues with it. I prefer the crunchiness of head lettuce. I won't be buying Romaine lettuce again. It was Andy Boy lettuce

Thanks, sushipup!

These problems always seem to be very very localized when they finally trace it down. Generally it's a single farm or even a specific field. As I've said before, and it's often wildlife contamination. There are no fences, and fences can't keep out wildlife anyway, And the fields in my beloved Monterey County often abut the wilderness areas. But why it's usually just the romaine? That's a mystery.

OK, so I don't know if I'm misunderstanding what they are saying on the news today, but what I'm hearing now is don't eat ANY lettuce from Salinas. So it's not just the Romaine??? I'm glad I didn't buy any other lettuce that would have to be tossed. I wonder where the cabbage head that I bought came from - it's not in a package with a label on it. This is getting ridiculous.

My DH hates lettuce so we have everything else chopped up in a bowl. I sometime buy myself a baseball sized lettuce.

Can you hear this in your head? LOL