ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — Agricultural officials have dismissed reports that “plastic” cabbage had been imported into Dominica, as the island followed a number of Caribbean countries and banned the importation of Romaine Lettuce originating from the United States.

“The cabbage is real cabbage. The only thing is that the cuticle which is a part of the leaf is a little thicker than we are accustomed to. So our assumption is it is because of the variety of the cabbage,” said Nelson Laville, the head of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Unit.

Recently, videos had been posted on the social media networks showing what has been described as “plastic cabbage’ and Laville said the authorities had done their own test on the cabbage brought into the island.

“Notwithstanding that, there was this rumour and these videos that were spread around. So we took action, in collaboration with the Environmental Health Department and we collected some of those samples and we proceeded to test it in our labs.

“We brought them into our labs where we conducted some tests on the cabbage in question and we found out that there was no plastic cabbage,” he told reporters.

“We conducted three different types of tests and that was our result. The cabbage is genuine cabbage and it is fit for consumption,” he added.

He said that while cabbage is green, “there is always this white glossy layer on the cabbage and that is the cuticle of the cabbage.

“So once we are able to remove the cuticle and test it, it proved to be plant tissue. So having said this, the cabbage is not plastic cabbage. It is just normal cabbage with a thick cuticle,” Laville added.

Dominica has become the latest Caribbean country to ban Romaine Lettuce after the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), earlier this month warned of an outbreak of illness in North America relating to the safety of romaine lettuce within US territories.

According to the CDC the outbreak may be linked to a particular type of E. Coli Bacteria.