The price of lettuce has skyrocketed across the US, roughly doubling after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national ban in November following numerous cases of E. coli linked to the consumption contaminated lettuce.
Dozens of cases of E. coli infection were reported across the country in early to mid-November, leading federal authorities ultimately to conclude that tainted lettuce was the culprit, banning the leafy vegetable on November 20th.
Consumer and supermarkets quickly dumped their stocks of questionable lettuce in the wake of the federal ban.
Health officials later narrowed down the contaminated produce to romaine lettuce grown in six counties in central and northern California.
As consumers began purchasing lettuce again following the announcement green-lighting the sale of lettuce not grown in California, suppliers have struggled to keep up with the sudden increase in demand as California-grown romaine remains off-limits.
According to CNBC, the cost of lettuce has more than doubled since the ban was put in place on November 20th, rising from a maximum price of $20.85 for a carton of iceberg lettuce on November 19th to $39.56 on November 21st.
After the Center for Disease Control limited its ban on romaine to California produce on November 26th, the price continued to increase, reaching $45.65 per carton, which the USDA has blamed on shrinking supplies of iceberg as demand for substitutes for romaine increase.