Everything S’poreans Should Know About the Romaine Lettuce Issue in 60 Sec

Have some romaine lettuce on your plate right now?

Well, I advise you to throw it away. Now. 

“But why? It looks perfectly fine to me,” one reader questions.

In response, read this statement in earnest, for it’s going to change your life. Or your lettuce nibbling habits in the near future anyway.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

Shit might just get real. And it might not even be in its final form.

Everything about the Romaine Lettuce Issue in one minute

Romaine Lettuce might not be the most life-threatening food apparel in history, but in recent times it has certainly leaned towards the dark side. Having been linked to an outbreak of food poisoning in the US, American health officials have warned those who actually eat vegetables to not… well, eat them.

“But what has this got to do with us?” another reader with the pseudonym Ah Beng prompts. “US refers to United States what, also not Unofficial Singapore. Ahahahahaha derppp *dab* peace out.”

Well, that’s certainly a valid question save for the last part, to which I shall explain the very convoluted notion that…

Singapore actually imports its own Romaine Lettuce from the States. 

And apparently, according to Straits Times, “neither the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) nor the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had issued a recall for romaine lettuce”.

“So, you’re saying…” Ah Beng writes.

Yes.

There’s romaine lettuce in Singapore that might just make you shit your pants.

E. Coli Bacteria

On 20 Nov, the US CDC expressed that the romaine lettuce-linked food poisoning outbreak could be attributed to the infamous E. coli bacteria nobody actually knows about.

(Fun fact you can just skip: The Escherichia coli, also known as E. coli bacteria, is a “Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms.”)

While no deaths have been reported yet, 32 cases of food poisoning have been reported across 11 states in the US, with 13 hospitalised and one patient developing a form of kidney failure. The affected consumers have been determined to have fallen sick between 8 Oct and 31 Oct.

Investigations are currently ongoing, and the CDC urged US consumers with any form of romaine lettuce in their homes to throw the vegetable away. Even if some of it was consumed without someone having to take a bloody shit.

Incidentally, symptoms of E. coli infection include…

• Severe stomach cramps
• Diarrhoea (which is often bloody)
• Vomiting

Some may also get a fever (which is routinely less than 38.5 deg C.)

While most people recover within five to seven days, the infections can vary from very mild to life-threatening.

Singapore Salad Crisis

More often than not, we associate Romaine Lettuce with salads. And could you just imagine eating salads without the damn lettuce?

However, that might have to be the precautionary case, as the AVA has admitted that “no specific brand of lettuce or farm have been identified by US authorities in relation to the outbreak.”

It has also reminded the food industry to be “vigilant”. For example, consumers who have bought romaine lettuce and aren’t sure where they’re sourced from should head to the trash bin pronto and have a lettuce dumping buffet.

Additionally, the authority advised consumers to practice good food handling habits. To exemplify, consumers should wash their hands, utensils and food preparation surfaces before and after handling raw food, in a bid to siam food contamination.

Last but not least, raw food should also be separated from cooked or ready-to-eat food. Though judging from how kiasi Singaporeans generally are…

That should already be a given.