herb taste. In North American supermarkets, romaine is widely available year-round. Food safety issues From November 2017 through January 2018, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHA) identified romaine as being linked to illness in 41 persons in Canada. A probably related outbreak affected 25 people in 15 states of the U.S. who ate leafy greens, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) were unable to confirm that it was romaine in particular. There was one death. The disease agent was Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7. The most recent illness started on December 12, 2017; the PHA declared the outbreak over on January 10, 2018, and the CDC declared it over on January 25. In response to another E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, which probably began in mid-March 2018, the CDC recommended in April 2018 that consumers not buy or eat romaine lettuce unless they could confirm it was not from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region. On May 22, 2018, after a month-long warning, the CDC announced it was now safe to consume romaine again. The outbreak killed five people and caused 89 hospitalizations across 32 states. In June 2018, the FDA traced the source of the latest E. coli outbreak to water from a canal located in Yuma, Arizona. In November 2018, the US CDC and the PHA of Canada issued a warning to consumers that romaine lettuce should not be consumed in any form, and that they should dispose of any currently on hand. The same strain of E. coli identified in the 2017-2018 outbreak was implicated. At least 43 people became ill in this outbreak, which the FDA traced to one of six counties in Central California: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Ventura. As of January 9, 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared the most recent Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to California grown romaine lettuce over. Growers Many US growers of romaine lettuce farm in Salinas in the summer and the Imperial Valley and Yuma in the winter, relying on day laborers crossing the border from Mexico. Much of the romaine lettuce sold in northern Europe is grown in southern Spain, relying on migrant laborers from Africa. See also Notes References Kirschmann, John D. & Dunne, Lavon J. Nutrition Almanac, s.v. . External links Leaf vegetables Food plant cultivars Lettuce