COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 10 (Nationwide Times) — Farmers markets in several U.S. states are seeing a rush for locally grown lettuce as shoppers react to a cyclospora outbreak and warnings involving some iceberg lettuce sold through grocery stores.
In Ohio, vendors told the Ohio Farmers Market Network that they were selling out within 30 to 60 minutes of opening, according to the network’s executive director, Sara Hill. At the East Lansing Farmers Market in Michigan, vendor Kastner 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.
The reports show a sharp change in where some shoppers are buying salad ingredients. But the available information does not establish that farmers markets nationwide have seen the same increase, or that locally grown produce is risk-free.
What is cyclospora?
Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause an intestinal illness called cyclosporiasis. Symptoms can include prolonged, watery diarrhea, along with stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite. Symptoms may begin days or weeks after a person ingests the parasite.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration have investigated illnesses associated with iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico. Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled or removed iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17, according to the supplied recall and public-health accounts. The reports said the product had been distributed in at least 27 states.
The available reports give different case totals and descriptions of the outbreak’s geographic reach. Those differences may reflect changing reporting dates or different definitions of confirmed and suspected cases. The underlying CDC and FDA records were not included in the supplied material, so no single case total is presented here.
Why are farmers markets benefiting?
Some shoppers appear to be using farmers markets as an alternative to packaged salads and grocery-store lettuce. NielsenIQ data showed that U.S. fresh-lettuce unit sales fell 9% in the week ending July 18, according to Reuters’ account of the data. The New York Times reported that packaged-salad sales fell by more than 20% in mid-July compared with the previous month.
At Oliver’s Produce, a farm and market in upstate New York, lettuce sales increased from 700 heads in July of the previous year to 1,500 heads in the referenced July, according to owner Sawyer Oliver’s sales figures. Oliver said the farm sold out ahead of a weekend market.
Darlene Wolnik, program director of the Farmers Market Coalition, said market managers had reported sales increases of 15% to 30%. Those figures are based on reports from individual market managers, not a nationwide market census.
In Tennessee, Ray Tyler of Rose Creek Farms said the farm’s lettuce supply at the Franklin Farmers Market was nearly gone by 10 a.m., about two hours earlier than usual. Vendors in Illinois, Indiana and the Washington, D.C., region also reported increased interest in local produce.
The shift has also affected food businesses that rely heavily on fresh produce. Reports cited declines at some restaurant chains, including salad-focused businesses, but the figures varied by company and source and do not provide a complete picture of restaurant sales.
Is local produce safer?
Not automatically. Cyclospora contamination can occur in fresh produce regardless of whether it is sold at a supermarket or a farmers market. Public-health guidance described in the reports says shorter local supply chains may create fewer opportunities for contamination, but that is a general comparison, not proof that a particular farm’s lettuce is safer.
The CDC advises people to wash their hands and rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water before preparing or eating them. Washing produce can remove some germs and dirt, but it does not guarantee that all harmful organisms will be eliminated. Consumers should also follow specific recall or health-department instructions for products they have purchased.
For shoppers, the outbreak has created a practical distinction between two questions: where lettuce was grown and whether a particular product is part of an official warning or recall. Farmers markets may offer a way to buy directly from growers, but customers should still ask vendors about handling and follow public-health guidance.
The result is a food-market shift driven by both concern and confidence. Grocery-store lettuce and packaged-salad sales have weakened in some data, while individual farms and markets report faster sellouts. Those local reports show how a national food-safety investigation can quickly change shopping habits, even before officials have finished determining the full scope of the outbreak.