Romaine Lettuce Is Being Recalled After Testing Reveals Parasite

Another lettuce recall just hit the market. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is warning consumers not to eat Ocean Mist brand romaine lettuce after it became the subject of a new recall due to a Cyclospora parasite found during sampling.

According to a March 31 recall notice, packages of Ocean Mist Farms brand Romaine Hearts lettuce are included in the recall. The recalled products, packaged in 22-ounce packages, feature coding "22RHDM2L" and a harvest date of "MAR 10." The lettuce was grown in Coachella, California and sold mainly in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs like Chisago City, North Branch, and Duluth. A complete list of impacted retailers, as well as photos of the recalled product, can be found here. The recall notice did not say how many packages are included in the recall. The products were recalled after "the MDA Laboratory found Cyclospora in the product during routine surveillance sampling." No illnesses have been reported in connection to the recalled products at this time.

While cases of cyclospora infection were once rare in the United States, Mayo Clinic notes that the parasite has been increasingly found in lettuce, fresh basil and imported raspberries, all of which have been linked in cyclospora outbreaks in the United States and Canada since the '90s. While some with a cyclospora infection do not develop signs or symptoms, others may experience symptoms including diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Symptoms usually begin within two to 11 days of eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Consumers who begin experiencing these symptoms or think you may have consumed a contaminated product are urged to contact a health professional. Consumers who have purchased the recalled Ocean Mist Farms brand Romaine Hearts lettuce should not eat it. Instead, the product should be discarded, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said.

The recall follows a string of similar recalls impacting various salad brads and comes just months after Dole in January issued a voluntary recall of dozens of types of prepackaged salads due to a "possible health risk" from listeria. The recall, issued after traces of Listeria bacteria was discovered after testing harvest equipment, impacted salads sold in more than two dozen states and across grocery stores nationwide, including Walmart, Aldi, and Kroger. Just like the recent romaine lettuce recall, no illnesses were reported in connection to the Dole recall.