Ohio – In the past two weeks, nearly 40 people tested positive for E. coli, and the federal health authorities have a reason to believe that a famous fast-food chain might be the reason for the spread.
According to a recent CDC statement, 37 people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana tested positive for E. coli in the last two weeks, and all of them had eaten at Wendy’s prior to noticing the first symptoms.
The CDC has reason to believe that romaine lettuce served at Wendy’s might be the reason for the spread, but as of now, the CDC is not advising that people avoid eating at Wendy’s restaurants or stop eating romaine lettuce since there isn’t official confirmation that the spread can be tied to the popular food chain restaurant.
While people are waiting to see if CDC will release a confirmation or denial regarding the case, Wendy’s continues to serve all the foods from the menu, including the romaine lettuce topping.
The highest number of positive cases, 19, are from Ohio. There are more than 400 Wendy’s restaurants statewide, and the chain is among the four most popular fast-food restaurants in Ohio. Most of their customers are young people and students, but many are now avoiding the restaurant, at least until new information about the E. coli spread is available.
Speaking to WHIO, Jahkill Ball, one of those who has already tested positive for the bacteria, said that she is concerned that many people might end up positive for E. coli because Wendy’s is among the most popular chains and a lot of people visit the restaurants every day.
“Wendy’s is like the top three fast food chains you can go to,” said Jahkill Ball. “That’s a lot of people it’s gonna hit. That’s insane, it’s crazy.”
Friday, the CDC announced that Wendy’s is withdrawing romaine lettuce used in burgers and sandwiches from some of its locations in response to an E. coli outbreak that has sent at least 10 people to the hospital and sickened scores more, according to Nebraska local news outlet The Sarpy County.
The recent situation forced the company to issue an official statement to the public further explaining the situation. This is what officials with the company had to say:
“We are fully cooperating with public health authorities on their ongoing investigation of the regional E. coli outbreak reported in certain midwestern states. While the CDC has not yet confirmed a specific food as the source of that outbreak, we are taking the precaution of discarding and replacing the sandwich lettuce from some restaurants in that region. The lettuce that we use in our salads is different, and is not affected by this action. As a company, we are committed to upholding our high standards of food safety and quality,” It reads.
In the meantime, many young people say they have good alternative to Wendy’s like Chipotle and Panera.
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