Toddler Blinded After Eating Contaminated Lettuce
Toddler Blinded After Eating Contaminated Lettuce
A toddler named Lucas can no longer walk, talk and see after eating lettuce contaminated with E. coli.
In the fall of 2018, his parents, Nathan Parker and Karla Terry, took the 2 years old Lucas and his siblings to Disneyland, their first trip outside Canada.
But what they couldn't know at the time was that a few innocent bites of romaine salad Lucas ate one night at a small California roadside restaurant would change their lives forever.
Soon after that dinner, an outbreak of E. coli O157: H7 contamination spread across both Canada and the United States — eventually leaving 35 people hospitalized.
Like most people who get sick from this strain of E. coli, Lucas didn't show symptoms immediately. When he started feeling unwell, the family already headed out for the long drive home. By the time he was in a Canadian hospital, the E. coli had shut down one of his kidneys and led to two brain injuries. There are no current treatments for E. coli that can help alleviate infections or prevent complications.
Lucas can no longer walk, talk or see. Young children and older adults are most at risk of developing serious complications from E. coli O157: H7 contamination. While most people simply experience an upset stomach, some develop life-threatening symptoms, including stroke, kidney failure and seizures and some die. Between 2009 and 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say they identified 40 food-borne outbreaks of infections from this strain of E. coli in the U.S. with a confirmed or suspected link to leafy greens. "I ordered a salad. I thought I was doing the right thing, you know?" said Lucas's father. "And because of a breakdown somewhere else it turned out to be the most fatal mistake in the world." Lucas Parker is now almost six years old. All his meals are liquified and ingested through a tube in his stomach. "I want people to be made aware that anything, you know, should never be taken for granted — because you could eat something that can just take your life away, take your joy away." There has been recall after recall of contaminated romaine lettuce. Seven people have died, and hundreds have been sickened or hospitalized in Canada and the United States. Moreover the convenience of bagged salads greatly increases the chance of spreading the virus. An E.coli contaminated lettuce can be cut and mixed with other lettuce and cross contaminate many different packages of bagged salads!
To reduce the risk of developing a food-borne illness, consumers should purchase whole heads of lettuce and then remove the outer leaves," according to Goodridge who is the professor of food safety at University of Guelph in Ontario. Consumers should also wash the inner leaves thoroughly. Buying head lettuce and washing it thoroughly won't eliminate the risk of E. coli.
For complete peace of mind, your family deserves to be able to gather and eat nutritious food without worrying about potential exposures to toxins. We recommend Amazing Water Multifunctional Food Sanitizer which removes harmful toxins, bacteria, viruses, and added hormones in food within minutes. Just add water, insert either vegetables, fruit, meat, or seafood, and within minutes the food is sanitized and the residue is discarded, ensuring your food is completely clean and sanitized every time.
