Is It Safe to Eat Romaine Lettuce?
If you watched a trending documentary and are now scared to eat romaine lettuce, here’s what you should know.
Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD
A healthy eating pattern can be both nutritious and tasty when highlighting fresh, seasonal produce. One of the best ways to include fruits and vegetables into your meals is adding them to a salad. But if you're hesitant to use romaine lettuce as the base, we can understand why.
Over the past few years, romaine lettuce has been prone to foodborne illness contaminants, including E. coli outbreaks in 2018, 2020 and even as recent as last year. And in the recent Netflix documentary "Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food," multiple food safety officials, advocates and experts interviewed state that they stay away from romaine lettuce due to the risk of contamination.
So is romaine lettuce safe to eat? We're breaking down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advice on what you should know before you buy the leafy green.
Related: Iceberg Lettuce vs. Romaine Lettuce: What's the Difference?
Is It Safe to Eat Romaine Lettuce?
According to the CDC, many foodborne illnesses in the U.S. are linked to germs on raw fruits and vegetables. This includes the spread of bacteria like E. coli, norovirus, Salmonella, Listeria and more. Sensitive groups like those age 65 and older, immunocompromised individuals, children younger than age 5 and pregnant people may experience severe symptoms from foodborne illness.
While the headlines make it seem as if all romaine is harboring illness-causing germs, the reality is less attention-grabbing.
"Millions of servings of leafy greens are eaten safely every day in the United States," per the CDC. If you're looking to consume raw romaine lettuce—or any fruit or vegetable for that matter—you should be washing your veggie before consuming it. Following the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service's advice, wash your produce raw before eating or cooking to help remove any dirt, germs and bacteria on the surface.
To properly wash your lettuce, the first step you need to take is to wash your hands and surfaces that you plan for the green to come in contact with. Remove bruised or torn leaves, then thoroughly wash lettuce under running water (you do not have to use special produce cleaning products). After drying your lettuce with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, it's ready to eat. That's all it takes to help prevent harmful diseases from spreading in your kitchen, food or body.
Related: Why Does Lettuce Turn Pink?
There are some exceptions to this. The CDC notes that if bagged romaine lettuce products have labels like "ready to eat," "triple washed" and "no washing necessary," you don't need to wash the greens as they have already been commercially washed.
"Although prewashed greens sometimes cause illness, the commercial washing process helps remove germs that can be removed by washing," the CDC states. So if your lettuce is already washed, it's best to leave it alone and eat as-is.
The Bottom Line
Unless your product is recalled, romaine lettuce is safe to eat. It also has amazing benefits like supporting bone health, eye health and skin health, thanks to it being packed with vitamins K and A. By rinsing your produce, including romaine lettuce, under water before consuming, you can help prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses. For recipes to help you use up your romaine, try our Grilled Romaine with Avocado-Lime Dressing or our Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps.
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