Syracuse University will no longer serve romaine lettuce following a warning released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week.

On Tuesday, the CDC told consumers to throw away all forms of romaine lettuce because of an outbreak of E. coli infections linked to the lettuce. Thirty-two people in 11 states have become sick from eating romaine lettuce, and 13 of them were hospitalized.

Mark Tewksbury, SU’s director of residence and Carrier Dome operations, said in an email that after the CDC warning was released, SU’s Food Services pulled all items containing romaine lettuce from the university’s on-campus dining facilities. Dining centers will offer spinach, iceberg lettuce and spring mix instead, Tewksbury said.

“Food Services will adhere to the warning until the CDC indicates romaine lettuce is safe for consumption,” he said in the email.

There have been two reported illnesses from the lettuce in New York. In Canada, 22 people from Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick have been affected by the same strain of E. coli, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

This outbreak of E. coli comes a year after an outbreak that involved an E. coli strand with the same genetic fingerprint as the one affecting romaine lettuce today presented itself in leafy greens in the U.S. and Canada. That outbreak was reported over in January.

The investigation into the current outbreak of E. coli is ongoing, according to the CDC. Federal health officials said on Monday the most likely source of the lettuce contamination comes from growing regions in northern and central California, The Washington Post reported. Romaine from different growing regions such as Florida and Arizona is being introduced in grocery stores.

No common grower, distributor, supplier or brand has been found, according to the CDC.

Published on November 26, 2018 at 10:02 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu