Cyclospora Outbreak: Do we have to cook lettuce? by Patrice Hall

 Cyclospora Outbreak: Do we have to cook lettuce?

By Patrice Hall

There has been some talk regarding the cyclospora outbreak this year, and the conversation has centered around possibly cooking lettuce.  According to the CDC, Cyclospora can pass to humans by consuming unwashed produce, however most people normally wash their produce before eating it.  On July 17, 2026, Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. Of course, our CSA sources our food from our local farm, Norwich Meadows farm.  This is the best reason to join a CSA; we can eliminate risks from overseas farms, our food is fresher because it is not traveling long distances, and we can always contact our farmer, Zaid, in case any issues arise.

The CDC site also states that the “best by” date has passed so the lettuce you would buy in grocery stores should be safe:

The best-by dates for these recalled products have passed and they should no longer be available in stores or restaurants. If you check your home and have recalled lettuce, do not eat it. Throw it away or return it. Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the recalled lettuce using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.

 

Operative word here is “should”, we never know the daily practices of farms which we are not familiar with, let alone farms outside of the US.  The US imports lots of different food items which we do not grow domestically such as tropical fruit.  Lettuce is something we grow, however when you go to the supermarket or grocery store you have no idea where the items are grown.  Even mixed leaf salad kits have greens which are sourced from various locations, and they will be mixed so we wouldn’t know which portion was grown where.

 

So, to answer the question in the title, do we have to cook our lettuce?  My answer is, absolutely not if you are eating locally grown produce, just wash it as you normally would.  People who buy produce from supermarkets and grocery stores, maybe they have to just to be safe.  Nowadays there are many food recalls, just stay up to date on the latest, also keep the CDC’s website bookmarked (cdc.gov) for details.  

 

Details on the cyclospora outbreak can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/cyclosporiasis/outbreaks/07-26/index.html

Also, here is an interesting article on bagged salad kits: https://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/bagged-salad-history

 

Happy eating!

  

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