Local Restaurants Ease Patrons Fears About E-Coli Tainted Lettuce
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Local restaurants and grocery stores are busy reassuring customers that the lettuce they sell is safe after Texas became one of 29 states with an E. coli outbreak linked to romaine.
At Crisp Salad Company in Dallas, general manager Ali Smith says they are the first questions many customers ask.
"Is the romaine safe? Should I get spinach? Where does your romaine come from?," he says.
So Thursday, he posted a sign letting customers know that their romaine is from Salinas, California and is safe to eat. He says he's also working extra hard to ease his customers' concerns.
"I just reassure all of my customers, it's completely safe. One hundred percent," Smith says. "If we feel like it wasn't safe or we couldn't eat it or our family couldn't eat it, we wouldn't even have it in the company."
Other companies, including Taco Cabana, are taking the same approach. At grocery stores such as Kroger, Tom Thumb and Central Market, only California-sourced romaine remains on the shelves.
At Crisp Salad, customers say the outbreak is on their minds.
"Certainly as a consumer, I'm concerned, and I do look for information from those that are serving it that they're being intentional to take care," says Josh Bleeker.
And while he some still opts for his favorite green, others say romaine is out of their diet for now.
"Just to play it safe. You never know," says customer Brian Cannon. "Everybody thinks they're safe until they realize, 'oh, we have it.'"
The Centers for Disease Control says not to buy or eat romaine lettuce unless you can confirm it's not from the Yuma, Arizona growing area.
If you have it at home and aren't sure where it's from, you should throw it away.
