Local lettuce
I was at my favorite farmers' market this weekend on Riva Road in Annapolis buying spring greens -- spinach to saute and lettuces for salads -- when news broke that once again our greens may be contaminated with the deadly E coli.
This time, it is romaine. And it is lettuce that has been sold to restaurants and food service fascilities, which may explain the baby arugula salad I had during my Mother's Day dinner out.
The outbreak of contamination has sickened 19 people in Michigan, Ohio and New York. The shredded romaine was grown in Arizona and was sold to wholesalers, and it may show up in salad bars and delis.
Maryland is among the states to which the company, Freshway Foods, said it sold bags of lettuce. And we are supposed to avoid those "salad in a bag" products.
There is no guarantee that lettuce sold by the farmers at my market is not or will not be contaminated in some way.
But somehow I feel better knowing it came from the farm in Anne Arundel County owned by the same farmer who's been selling me lettuce at the same farmers' market for a decade.
And if there was ever a problem with locally grown produce, it would be easy to trace.
I never liked the idea of salad in a bag anyway.
