COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 10 (Nationwide Times) — Farmers markets in several parts of the United States are seeing a rush for locally grown lettuce as shoppers look for alternatives during a cyclospora outbreak linked by federal health investigations to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico.
The shift is showing up in market stalls and grocery data. In Ohio, some vendors have been selling out within 30 to 60 minutes of opening, said Sara Hill, executive director of the Ohio Farmers Market Network. In Michigan, a vendor at the East Lansing Farmers Market sold 158 heads of romaine over two days during one week and later sold out of about 30 to 40 heads 10 minutes before the next market opened.
At the same time, NielsenIQ recorded a 9% drop in U.S. fresh-lettuce unit sales for the week ending July 18, according to data cited by Reuters.
The reports point to a consumer response that is strong in some regions but not measured uniformly nationwide. Farmers Market Coalition program director Darlene Wolnik said market managers had reported sales increases of 15% to 30%. Those figures came from reports by individual market managers, not from a single national farmers-market survey.
What is driving the concern?
Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness. The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public-health agencies have investigated illnesses associated with iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico, according to the agencies’ findings described in the supplied coverage.
Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled or pulled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17. The product was reported to have been distributed in at least 27 states.
The investigation and recall have made shoppers more cautious about lettuce and other foods commonly used in salads. NielsenIQ data showed the weekly decline in fresh-lettuce sales. Separate reports also described declines in packaged-salad purchases and in sales at some produce-heavy restaurant chains, although those figures came from different sources and covered different periods.
The figures should not be treated as one nationwide measure of consumer behavior. Case totals and the reported geographic scope of the outbreak varied by date and by the way cases were counted in the reports.
Why are farmers markets benefiting?
Local farms offer a different route from producer to customer. A shopper may buy lettuce directly from the farm that grew it, rather than purchasing a product that traveled through a longer supply chain.
That difference may reduce some opportunities for contamination, but local produce is not automatically free of risk. Public-health guidance described in the reports does not say that lettuce from a farmers market is immune from cyclospora.
At Oliver’s Produce, a family-owned farm and market in upstate New York, lettuce sales rose from 700 heads in July of the previous year to 1,500 heads in the referenced July, according to owner Sawyer Oliver. Oliver said the farm sold out ahead of one weekend.
In Tennessee, Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms said his lettuce supply at the Franklin Farmers Market sold out by 10 a.m., nearly two hours earlier than usual. Vendors in Illinois, Indiana and the Washington, D.C., region also reported stronger interest in locally grown produce.
These accounts show how the outbreak is affecting individual markets, but they do not establish that farmers markets nationwide have experienced the same increase.
Is local lettuce safer?
The reports do not support a blanket claim that local lettuce is safer than lettuce from a grocery store. The safety of any produce depends on how it was grown, handled, washed and stored, as well as whether it is part of an active recall or public-health investigation.
The CDC guidance cited in the coverage includes washing hands and rinsing fresh fruits and vegetables under running water before preparation or eating. Shoppers should also follow recall notices and instructions from federal and state health agencies.
The lettuce investigation has led some consumers to change where they shop, while restaurants and grocery stores continue to manage uncertainty about salad ingredients. For farmers-market vendors, that concern has translated into quick sellouts in some communities. For shoppers, it has created a broader question: whether buying directly from a local farm offers reassurance without eliminating the need for ordinary food-safety precautions.
