Apr 25, 2018 4 min read

Let us begin with an advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Avoid all types of romaine lettuce grown in and around Yuma, Ariz.

Romaine from that area, specifically, is blamed for an outbreak of E. coli, a bacteria that can cause severe illness. Reports indicated that as of Tuesday morning, at least 60 people from 16 states had been sickened, with 31 hospitalized. No deaths had been reported.

Twelve cases had been confirmed in Pennsylvania, with eight patients hospitalized.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday advised Pennsylvanians to throw out romaine from the Yuma region.

State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said symptoms may include “bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a type of kidney failure.” One hospitalized patient in Pennsylvania developed HUS.

The threat of tainted romaine may be minimal in Washington and Greene counties, a random sampling of grocery stores and restaurants indicated Tuesday. None of them reported they were selling or using that lettuce variety from the Yuma region – be it whole heads, hearts, chopped and in bagged salad mixes.

“We still have romaine on display for sale because we either have Fresh Express (a national brand) or lettuce grown somewhere other than the Yuma area. Our wholesaler assured us of that,” said Peggy Cox, manager and part-owner of Cox Market on Route 481 in Carroll Township. “But our sales are impacted because people aren’t buying it.”

She added that the grocery carries only packages with three romaine hearts.

“Without packaging,” Cox said, “there’s no way shoppers would know where it came from.”

Sam’s Club, the membership-only warehouse chain, knew the source of its romaine hearts – and it was the Yuma region.

The company, which has a store in South Strabane Township, this week sent an emailed letter to consumers who had purchased romaine hearts at the club, requesting them to return the item to the local location for a full refund. Sam’s Club also said it was removing romaine hearts from shelves.

Vernon Cook, the produce leader at Washington’s Shop ‘n Save, said bad romaine is not an issue at his chain store location. “We use the Fresh Express brand, and none of its crops were affected,” he said.

Cook added that when the outbreak was first reported about a week ago, “one of the owners pulled fresh romaine off the shelves as a precaution.”

Michael Passalacqua did not have to do that. “I know my romaine comes from California,” said the owner of Angelo’s Restaurant in North Franklin Township.

“As long as it’s not from the Yuma area, I’m pretty confident (that the romaine is OK). A lot of places have stopped ordering it, and a lot of people have stopped buying it.”

Passalacqua said he hadn’t heard the subject discussed much by other restaurateurs. “It seemed when this was announced, it affected chain restaurants more than anyone else.”

Kim Kerr had a pithy, four-word response when asked whether Belko Foods, a Waynesburg grocery, has been impacted by this food scare. “We don’t carry romaine,” she said in a firm, but friendly manner. “We just haven’t.”

That also is the case at Gabby Market, along Park Avenue in North Franklin. “We don’t carry that type (of lettuce),” owner Shane Dever said. “We carry regular head lettuce. Restaurants would be more affected.”

The source of this outbreak has yet to be pinpointed, but there may be a break in solving the mystery. Eight prisoners at a facility in Nome, Alaska, have E. coli after eating whole-leaf romaine. Identifying the grower could be a key.