As coronavirus cases continue to surge across the U.S., Americans are stocking up on groceries again, and if you did your big shop this weekend at Walmart and bought one item in particular, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says you have to get rid of it, or risk serious sickness. A recall was issued after a batch of lettuce sold through Walmart tested positive for E. coli. Read on to make sure your next salad is safe to eat, and for another food recall that should be on your radar, check out If You Have This Milk in Your Fridge, You Should Get Rid of It Now.
The recall notice applies to Tanimura & Antle bagged single head romaine lettuce, and the E. coli was originally discovered during tests in the state of Michigan, and traced to a Walmart in Comstock. The strain of E. coli found was 0157:H7, one of the most likely strains of the bacteria to produce haemolytic uremic syndrome or HUS, a kind of kidney failure that can make E. coli fatal.
According to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), 5 to 10 percent of patients with this strain of E. coli go on to develop HUS. The tell-tale symptoms are a decreased frequency of urination, extreme lethargy, and a loss of color in the cheeks and lower eyelids. Young children and the elderly are most likely to develop HUS, with long-term effects potentially being serious kidney damage and even death. The FDA advises, “If consumers are experiencing any of the above symptoms, please contact your physician.”
Walmart posted a list of all stores that had sold the lettuce, spanning 19 states and Puerto Rico. It is believed that the recall applies to 3,396 packs of lettuce, packaged on Oct. 15 or Oct. 16. Retailers and distributors can identify the potentially affected products through the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) sticker attached to exterior of the case. The codes of the affected bags of lettuce are 571280289SRS1 and 571280290SRS1.
Consumers are advised to return the lettuce to the point of purchase for a full refund, or throw it away immediately. For a full list of states where the contaminated product was sold and contact details, visit the FDA’s website. Read on for other items you may have at home that have been recalled recently, and for another kind of product that’s proven hazardous, check out Target Just Recalled 122,500 Pairs of Shoes For This Scary Reason.
Read the original article on Best Life.