Romain lettuce (as shown above) is under recall by the CDC following reports of E. coli outbreaks around the nation and Canada. (File Photo)

NATIONWIDE–The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Tuesday for romaine lettuce that is reportedly contaminated with E. Coli. 

The multi-state outbreak is said to be affecting not only consumers, but retailers and restaurants. 

People who may have it in their refrigerator’s are urged to toss it into the trash immediately. All romaine lettuce will be removed from grocery stores and restaurants are being instructed to stop including it in their salad mixes. 

Here are some tips the CDC has issued regarding this recall:

• Consumers who have any type of romaine lettuce in their home should not eat it and should throw it away, even if some of it was eaten and no one has gotten sick. This advice includes all types or uses of romaine lettuce, such as whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and bags and boxes of precut lettuce and salad mixes that contain romaine, including baby romaine, spring mix, and Caesar salad. If you do not know if the lettuce is romaine or whether a salad mix contains romaine, do not eat it and throw it away. 
• Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators where romaine was stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
• Restaurants and retailers should not serve or sell any romaine lettuce, including salads and salad mixes containing romaine.

If you’ve eaten romaine lettuce in the past few weeks, follow these health tips: 

• Talk to your healthcare provider.
• Write down what you ate in the week before you started to get sick.
• Report your illness to the health department.
• Assist public health investigators by answering questions about your illness.

For more on E. Coli and the outbreak, visit www.cdc.gov.