With the Centers for Disease Control advising consumers to throw away any romaine lettuce because of an E. coli outbreak, State College Borough is informing residents and businesses to put it in the trash, but not in organics containers.
Material collected from the organics containers is used for composting, and the composting process might not reach a high enough temperature over a sustained period to kill the particular strain of E. coli — O157:H7 — linked to the current romaine lettuce contamination.
Temperatures of 160 degrees or higher over a period of 10 days are needed to kill the strain.
‘While the composting process occasionally reaches, and sometimes exceeds, temperatures of 155 degrees Fahrenheit in the Borough’s open windrow composting method, there is no guarantee the processing will hit 160 degrees Fahrenheit for a full 10 days, especially in the winter,’ a borough news release said.
The CDC, along with the Food and Drug Administration and health and regulatory officials are investigating after 32 people in 11 states and 18 people in Canada were became ill from the same E. coli strain.
A single source, brand or distributor has not been identified, so all romaine lettuce should be thrown away.
‘This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad,’ a CDC advisory said. ‘If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away.’
Consumers should also wash and sanitize drawers and shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored.
According to the CDC, symptoms of E. coli infection vary but can include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Some people may experience a fever, usually less than 101 degrees. While some infections can be mild, others can be severe or life-threatening. Illness may start anywhere from one to 10 days after exposure.
Anyone with symptoms should talk to their health care provider, write down what they ate over the week before they became ill, and report the illness to the health department.
