We’ve been warned about visiting family and friends, and asked to stay at home on Thanksgiving, but it appears that another threat to our health may already be lurking inside our homes: Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. has voluntarily recalled some of their romaine lettuce because of concern over possible E.coli contamination.
By now, the annual recalling of the romaine is almost as much a Thanksgiving tradition as the pardoning of the turkey and celebrating the false narrative of American mythology. In fact, this marks the third November in a row that Lifehacker has covered a romaine lettuce recall (interestingly, each between November 20—24), though the first during a pandemic. Here’s what to know about this year’s recall.
What is being recalled
Although Dole has a wide variety of lettuce products, the only two being recalled are the Dole Organic Romaine Hearts 3pk (UPC 0-71430-90061-1), combined English/French packaging, with Harvested-On dates of 10-23-20 and 10-26-20, and Wild Harvest Organic Romaine Hearts (UPC 7-11535-50201-2), with Harvested-On dates of 10-23-20 and 10-26-20, according to an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration.
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To find the “Harvested-On” sticker, look on the upper-right corner of each bag. Meanwhile, the UPC code is located on the bottom-right corner of the back of each bag. Each package contains three organic romaine hearts, and the Wild Harvest product is packaged in a 12oz bag.
At this point, there have been no illnesses from E.coli reported, and given that it can cause diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting, let’s keep it that way. Another thing to note is that because these products were harvested and packed almost a month ago, they really shouldn’t be in stores (or ideally, your fridge). Still, if you have either of the romaine products above, check the label, just to be safe.
The possibly contaminated romaine was sold in 15 states: Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Virginia.
If you have any lettuce with these UPC codes and Harvested-On dates, definitely throw it out. And if you have any questions, you can call the Dole Consumer Center at 1-800-356-3111, which is open 24 hours a day.
