You Might Skip the Caesar Salad at Thanksgiving

As I was driving through the Wendy's in Warrensburg when I noticed a note taped to the order screen talking about how out of an abundance of caution the restaurant was not serving lettuce. That is related to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that romaine lettuce produced in the Salinas region has been linked to the latest outbreak of E. Coli.

Based on new information, CDC is advising that consumers not eat and retailers not sell any romaine lettuce harvested 'from the Salinas, California growing region.

The CDC says people should avoid "all types of romaine lettuce harvested from Salinas, California such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and packages of precut lettuce and salad mixes which contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad."

The CDC says if you have romaine lettuce in your fridge you should check and see if there is information that identifies where it's grown. If Salinas is mentioned either by itself, or with another areas name you should not eat it. Throw it away. If you cannot determine where the romaine was grown you shouldn't eat it. If you don't know if the lettuce is romaine, or the salad mix contains romaine don't eat it and throw it away.

Forty cases of E. coli have been reported in sixteen states. Missouri, however, is not one of the states where cases have been reported.

This isn't the first time romaine lettuce has been recalled due to E. coli. There were also illnesses linked to romaine lettuce in 2011 and 2018. Not to mention illnesses related to bagged salads and other leafy greens over the past several years.

My advice, if someone brings a Caesar Salad or any kind of salad that might have romaine in it to the family Thanksgiving meal, maybe take a pass. Honestly, that's OK by me. It just leaves more room for turkey, stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce.