Bay Area restaurants make menu changes amid romaine E. coli warnings

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Bay Area restaurant chain Glory Days, with its 10 locations in the Bay Area, is having to make major adjustments to its menu, which has seven items containing romaine lettuce.

Glory Days made the choice to replace romaine with iceberg, which may seem like a simple switch, but managers say it's no small adjustment.

"That's the first thing that comes to mind is, 'What do we need to do to be proactive?'" said Jen Ulmer, the restaurant group's vice president of marketing.

Its Carrolwood location took losses on over a hundred pounds of romaine after the CDC warned the U.S. and Canada of an E.Coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, but the source of which was still unknown.

"It is a cost to us but there is nothing more important than making sure the health and safety of our guests and staff, that's first and foremost," Ulmer said.

FOX 13 Medical Reporter Dr. Joette Giovinco says tracking down the source of the outbreak is complicated.

"The contamination can occur anywhere along the line. It can occur in the farms, then that product can go to a distribution center where it is processed. Now that distribution center becomes contaminated," Dr. Jo explained.

The CDC says any areas where romaine has been stored needs to be sterilized; a big job for households and restaurants alike

"We still hand-cut all of our own iceberg," said Ulmer. "We will still serve that same good quality, we will just miss that little bit of romaine and spring mix in the interim."

Publix says anyone who has purchased romaine from their stores can bring it back for a refund. Meanwhile, the stores have removed it from their produce sections.