Health experts are urging consumers to take extra precautions with the foods they eat as federal officials investigate the link to some Taco Bell locations.
Consumers should avoid pre-packaged bagged salads and pre-cut greens due to the outbreak. Instead, they advise purchasing whole heads of lettuce, removing and discarding the outer leaves, and washing the remaining leaves thoroughly under running water before use.
Dr. Rabia de Latour, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone,
advised that consumers should temporarily avoid high-risk foods. In addition to packaged lettuce, she warned against consuming fresh herbs such as cilantro and parsley, which have been linked to past outbreaks.
Dr. Latour also warned against consuming raspberries due to their little hairs known as “styles," which trap the invisible parasite, making it difficult to remove.
“Removal is hard, especially when you can’t scrub a raspberry without ruining it,”
she said.
In the past, people have been infected by the parasite through consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to irrigation water contaminated by feces.
"I imagine this was caused by contaminated water so it’s probably hitting other bagged lettuce products as well,"
according to celebrity chef Andrew Gruel. "My advice, only eat salads from whole lettuce heads not bagged and processed, ever."
While Americans may be worried, the general public risk remains low, according to Dr. Daniel Caplivski, an infectious disease physician at Mount Sinai.
“We often see food-borne infections in clusters of the population,”
Caplivski said.
Federal health officials have traced the multi-state outbreak of Cyclospora infections to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to some Taco Bell locations.
The
CDC on Thursday advised consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. The alert comes as a record number of Cyclospora infections have been reported across more than 30 states. Health experts caution that the recent illnesses may not all be linked to a single source.
“FDA is working with the supplier of iceberg lettuce to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market,” including in other states, the
CDC said. “Taco Bell has committed to stop using any lettuce from the supplier identified by FDA’s traceback investigation.”
As of July 13, the CDC has received
reports of 1,645 confirmed domestic cases, 141 hospitalizations, and no deaths since May 1.
People with weakened immune systems—including cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and individuals with severe autoimmune conditions—may face a higher risk of experiencing more serious or prolonged diarrhea, according to health experts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
