Consumer Reports urges customers to refrain from consuming any romaine lettuce-based Wendy’s sandwiches or salads until more is known about the E. coli strain that has affected 97 individuals in six states and hospitalized 43 of them.
In recommending caution up until the fast-food chain can determine the source of the infection and provide specifics on how it intends to resolve the issue, the non-profit advocacy organization highlighted the expertise of its food safety experts.
James Rogers, CR’s head of food safety and testing, said in a statement that “E. coli may be particularly dangerous to young children, newborns, elderly people, and individuals with a damaged immune system.” In order to reduce your chance of contracting it, it is best to stay away from any Wendy’s salad that has romaine lettuce as well as sandwiches from Wendy’s that come with lettuce.
Although the cause of the epidemic is unknown, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed that several people who recently became ill with E. coli reported eating hamburgers or sandwiches with romaine lettuce at a Wendy’s restaurant before becoming ill.
The most frequently consumed ingredient among the menu items at Wendy’s was romaine lettuce, according to the government. However, investigators are still reviewing data at the ingredient level to see if any other foods may be the cause of the epidemic.
However, the CDC states that there is no need for individuals to avoid dining at Wendy’s or buying romaine lettuce. The statement on Thursday said, “At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that romaine lettuce sold in grocery stores, eaten in other restaurants, or consumed by individuals in their homes is associated to this incident.”
Larger outbreak?
The CDC on Thursday more than doubled its tally to those infected to 97, including 58 who live in Michigan, 24 from Ohio, two from Pennsylvania, 11 Indiana residents and one in New York. Of the 67 of those who were interviewed as part of an agency probe, 54 said they ate at a Wendy’s in the week before they got sick.
But the actual number of those sickened in the outbreak is likely higher than reported, the CDC noted.
Of those sickened, 10 had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly type of kidney disease that often requires dialysis, the agency said.
A Wendy’s representative said the company is cooperating with public health officials investigating the outbreak. The company also has discarded and replaced the sandwich lettuce at some eateries in the region where people were stricken.
“The lettuce that we use in our salads is different, and is not affected by this action,” Wendy’s said.
Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy’s and its franchisees operate about 7,000 restaurants worldwide.
Romaine lettuce and other greens like spinach and clover sprouts have been involved in at least 17 E. coli outbreaks around the U.S. between 2006 and 2019, according to the CDC.
E. coli outbreaks involving romaine lettuce sickened nearly 200 people across the country in late 2019, with regulators eventually pointing to cow feces as the likely culprit. The infected lettuce was grown downslope from public land where cattle grazed in the Salinas Valley in California.
Four years ago, McDonald’s switched its lettuce supplier after its salads sickened more than 500 people in 15 states, with the cyclospora parasite found to be behind the infections.