The Atlantic

How to Not Die This Thanksgiving

Tips to avoid being poisoned, intentionally or otherwise
Source: Shutterstock / Chris Chester / The Atlantic

Updated at 12:30 p.m. ET on November 27, 2019.

Last week, the U.S. received a “food safety alert” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There has been another outbreak of E. coli in lettuce. The federal agency recommends disposing of all lettuce from Salinas, California—some 75,000 pounds have already been dumped—as well as any lettuce of unclear origin. This particular type of E. coli causes not just diarrhea and vomiting but also kidney failure. So far, 67 people have been made ill.

Similar warnings of food-borne outbreaks hit often in the darkening fall days. Tales of illnesses tend to spike in late November, as people gather to feast and prepare food in massive quantities using unfamiliar tactics. There is good reason to be careful of poisoning one’s friends

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