E Coli Outbreak Empties Romaine Lettuce off Tri-City Shelves

An outbreak of e coli linked to the Yuma, AZ area resulted in most Tri-City grocery stores being bare of a popular lettuce this weekend.

In fact, I went to Winco to get some for the wife and found every product containing the variety was gone. Store officials in most locations posted signs indicating they had not experienced any contamination, but were pulling the lettuce as a precaution.

The outbreak resulted in nearly 36 people becoming ill to varying degrees, including 11 in Washington state. 22 were hospitalized after eating chopped romaine that came from what's known as the 'winter lettuce capitol' of the world, Yuma.

Any lettuce that came from that area (and there's a LOT!) has been pulled from shelves, people are urged to dispose of any recently purchased from the store that originated in that region.

Many people prefer romaine to iceberg lettuce, because the romaine has a lot less water and usually lasts much longer in the fridge.