JUST IN: Dr. Shanik: Stay away from Lettuce, Cabbage due to possible E. Coli issue [UPDATED]

Lakewood pediatrician Dr. Reuven Shanik today told TLS that resident should refrain from using cabbage and lettuce – both iceberg and romaine due to E Coli fears.

The CDC issued the following notice:

CDC, several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 infections (STEC O157:H7) in 13 states. Seventeen illnesses have been reported from California (3), Connecticut (2), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Michigan (1), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (2), New York (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), Virginia (1), Vermont (1) and Washington (1). Illnesses started on dates from November 15 through December 8, 2017. The Public Health Agency of Canada also is investigating an outbreak of STEC O157:H7 infections in several provinces.

Whole genome sequencing is being performed on samples of bacteria making people sick in the United States to give us information about whether these illnesses are related to the illnesses in Canada. Preliminary results show that the type of E. coli making people sick in both countries is closely related genetically, meaning the ill people are more likely to share a common source of infection.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak in Canada. In the United States, state and local public health officials are interviewing sick people to determine what they ate in the week before their illness started. CDC is still collecting information to determine whether there is a food item in common among sick people, including leafy greens and romaine.

Because we have not identified a source of the infections, CDC is unable to recommend whether U.S. residents should avoid a particular food. This investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available.

Dr. Shanik recommended staying away from these items “until they can figure it out.”

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Positiv released the following statement to TLS:

We have received countless inquiries about the recent E Coli outbreak and how it relates to romaine lettuce. We would like to let the public know a few facts about this issue so as to avoid any confusion.

1. The CDC and FDA did NOT say definitively that romaine is the source, it only a suspicion at this point. The outbreak started in Nov, and no firm source has been found to date.

2. The suspicion is on ROMAINE HEADS AND HEARTS not on any processed romaine, at this point.

3. Many kosher companies, Postiv and Kosher Gardens for sure, have their own fields and grow themselves, in greenhouses and protected environments, and are therefore not associated with any national outbreak stemming from market romaine.

4. As an added precaution our company has done extra testing since this outbreak has become known over 3 weeks ago. We have not found any bacteria in any of our tests, they all came back negative.

Chesky Seitler
COO
Kosher Gardens/Postiv

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25 COMMENTS

  1. I’m not going to say whether or not you should eat it but there was some type of whats app going around saying Positiv is fine because of the way its grown, in green houses…… everyone has to be their own judge

  2. Positive have said that this does not pertain to them. They grow their letters in greenhouses. This issue has to do with animal feces and therefor does not pertain to them. This is besides that the Greenhouses are Mexico and not in Canada nor in the USA
    dr. Shanik gave a blanket refrain not referring to these companies as he missed probably does not know or go into the Facts .

    I’m confidently eating my Romain lettuce from positive.

  3. Hard to believe that it would apply to bodek or positive since they aren’t grown in Canada and USA and it’s also Greenhouse protected Etc.

    What this will do is just have positive and bodek higher their prices because of the demand. I sure hope they don’t take advantage

  4. There is a simple way to “prove” if there is an issue. The CDC clearly states that people have become sick in 17 states including many that do not have a Kosher Supermarket. Moreover, if all the people who got sick were frum kosher consumers, we would of all heard by now. So, the source is not the fields of the kosher companies. Plain and simple. It would be impossible. Now if one field has an issue, what does that have anything to do with a different field 1000 miles away?

    As an aside, nobody has gotten sick since Dec 12, so it is not really a reason to get all worked about it now a month later when nobody has gotten sick in a month. There probably will not be a resolution to this for a long time and it does not make sense to wait for them “to figure it out” if they have not gotten anywhere in the last 8 weeks.

  5. Washed in a washing machine?
    I wonder if there are any nutrients left in the vegetables. And I hope they don’t use chlorine to wash it like they do with baby carrots!

  6. My understanding is, that at this point we don’t know how or why any lettuce or greens might have become contaminated. We can’t know if this might also affect “bugless” produce for whatever reason.

  7. Just to be clear on some facts, the CDC report was published on Dec 28 and the last reported incident of someone getting sick was Dec 12 even in the CDC report the source of the outbreak was never confirmed, and even if romaine lettuce (there was no report on cabbage iceberg) was the source of the problem it would of long be out of circulation due to the nature of a fresh product, therefore there was no recall issued.

    So for a DR. to come now after there is absolute no risk scaring and misleading people with old reports as if its relevant today is just hypocrisy.

    • Are you saying this against Dr. Shanik who cares only about the benefit of the community?? As someone who knows him personally, he and his special wife are busy with chesed all day, going way beyond the call of duty! I think it is time for an apology now and be careful with your facts and what you are saying! thank you

      • The facts stated on the CDC do not mention anywhere cabbage or regular lettuce so dont just to attack Solomon for his true statement their is no reason to cause fear and panic just because the letters Dr precedes your name

        • What I am trying to say is that Dr. Shanik only means this for our good, so for him to say it is hyprocrisy is really not nice and unfair! dont get me wrong, i am still eating lettuce but I just dont think it is fair to speak like that against Dr. Shanik!

  8. R’ Seitler, now that we’re in this discussion can you clarify what pesticides are used in your greenhouses in Mexico and is there any danger in eating them and legal in the US?

  9. While I don’t agree with the ban a total of 17 people out of 323,000,000 I do take issue with Mr. Seitler claiming processed lettuce is not included…the bacteria goes into the lettuce so wash it all you want unless you cook it there’s no difference…

  10. According to James Rogers, Ph.D., director of Food Safety and Research at Consumer Reports, if E. coli (or any other type of bacteria that can cause food poisoning) is present in your produce, washing it won’t remove all of those organisms. And it doesn’t take much bacteria to make you sick.

    “It is very difficult to remove bacteria from leafy greens,” he says. “Bacteria have the ability to adhere to the surface of the leaves, and to get stuck in microscopic crevices.” E. coli bacteria can even find their way into the interior of your produce.

    Washing lettuce in water (or water combined with baking soda) may help remove pesticide residue, surface dirt and debris from produce, but Rogers cautions that washing has not been proven an effective way to remove E. coli and related bacteria. And if you’re thinking that buying organic romaine will keep you safe, think again: According to Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, there is little evidence that organic produce is less vulnerable to E. coli outbreaks than conventional produce.

    To build your salad, choose other types of lettuce, such as arugula or baby kale. Or you can opt for cooked greens, suggests Rogers. The heat kills E. coli and other types of bacteria that can make you sick. Even greens that are typically consumed raw, such as romaine lettuce, can be cooked. E. coli is destroyed at about 160°F, but, unlike with meat, it’s tough to take the temperature of leafy greens. “If you cook the greens until they are fully wilted, they’re likely to have been heated enough to be safe,” Rogers says.

  11. I don’t work in the food industry. Is it possible that before we condemn all lettuce we should verify which ones were affected? I believe a blanket statement that all lettuce are problematic without investigating for specifics would impact every grocery store owner, the distributors, growers… To me it seems comparable to banning apples when there is an orange infestation, what does one have to do with the other? The planting of greenhouse lettuce is very different then its planting on the fields.There is a lot of responsibility in that so I hope that was done before a blanket statement has been made.

  12. Please dont think something grown in a greenhouse is immune to problems. They still may have pesticides sprayed all over them with no wind to blow the chemicals away. Also, fecal material is used in fertliizers that feed the vegetation. It is not a matter of the plants being exposed to animals. AND, I am sorry to add, that in Mexico, the waste permitted in fertilizer is not limited to animals. Yes, human raw sewarge is permissible in Mexico, and you can look it up. Even with organic, this issue can present itself. The experts are not sure how this happened. So avoid what they tell you to avoid altogether.

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