Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Gene Kennedy reporting After weeks of concerns about spinach there's another salad favorite in the spotlight now: Green leaf lettuce, sold under the brand name "FOXY."
The company issued the recall of eight thousand cartons of lettuce because the water used for irrigation tested positive for e-coli.
The green leaf lettuce recall affects seven western states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho. At this point, the recall DOES NOT affect Utah.
But how is this recent recall affecting perceptions in the Salt Lake Valley?
The co-owner of A & Z produce in Salt Lake hopes people will understand we're talking about only one type of lettuce: Green leaf. And it comes from only one company: FOXY in Salinas, California.
FOXY does sends some of its products to A & Z produce, but again, Utah is not among the states seeing a lettuce recall. A & Z is continuing to distribute green leaf lettuce from other produce companies to area markets.
This recall comes just weeks after the F-D-A recalled fresh spinach. Three people have died because of spinach contaminated with E-coli, so there's a concern that lettuce could wind up getting the same bad wrap.
J.D. Clark / Co-Owner, A & Z Produce: "I think it could be misunderstood and blown out of proportion. I don't think it is going to happen with green leaf unless you have news reporters or the news media saying that lettuce in general is a problem everywhere."
Logan Stucki, Shopper: "I still probably wouldn't by any of them. It's just a worrying thing."
Some shoppers we asked said that the out of state recall did not bother them, and that they would continue to buy green leaf lettuce.
Christian Jennings, Shopper: "Oh yeah. It's in the State of Utah, I'll eat green leaf lettuce, I'll eat spinach."
Produce companies and distributors are hoping most will have that attitude. It's still unclear what, if any, business fallout there may be.
Unlike the concern with spinach, no one has died from contaminated green leaf lettuce. Food experts say the best way to stay safe is keep your produce cold, so bacteria doesn't grow.
Again the green leaf lettuce being recalled was distributed under the name FOXY. It was sold in Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho, but NOT Utah. It was recalled because the water used for irrigation tested positive for e-coli, not the lettuce.
So far, no one has become ill because of the lettuce.
