Warm weather is supposed to be the salad season. This year, a water-borne parasite called cyclospora has turned the produce aisle into a guessing game.
The outbreak has already sickened at least 10,000 people, and the fear is showing up in sales. NielsenIQ found that prepackaged salad dollar sales were down 14% year over year for the four-week stretch that ended July 25.
Restaurants felt the drop quickly.
The weakest players have less room to ride it out. Salad and Go entered Chapter 11 proceedings, closed every location, and said the outbreak worsened its financial problems.
The FDA says the most likely source is iceberg lettuce processed at a Taylor Farms facility in central Mexico. Taylor Farms voluntarily pulled products that came from that facility.
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Taco Bell, which is part of Yum Brands, is the only national restaurant chain linked to the outbreak, and it uses iceberg lettuce often, including in the Crunchwrap Supreme and Cheesy Gordita Crunches. Yum executives said restaurant sales and foot traffic dipped after the FDA news broke but had started to bounce back by late July.
Chipotle felt it too, with CFO Adam Rymer putting the softness at about 200 basis points in the latter part of July, tied to cyclospora worries. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Chipotle also dealt with a separate food-safety scare. Possible salmonella in jalapeno peppers led to a recall, and that outbreak has sickened at least 300 people.
Cyclospora's long incubation period makes it hard to know which meal caused the illness.
That delay also makes it harder to stop. The FDA is tracking at least six additional active outbreaks without an identified cause, though those have far fewer reported cases.
Restaurants are working to win back nervous customers. Sweetgreen says it has never served iceberg lettuce and uses only U.S.-grown lettuce, and CEO Jonathan Neman made that point on X on the chain's 19th birthday.
Just Salad's Nick Kenner said his chain strips the outside leaves of romaine and kale and gives them a second wash. Chopt also posted on Instagram, saying "Food safety has always been at the heart of how we operate" and promising to keep following guidance from public health officials.
Investors will get another signal soon. Cava, which has not reported quarterly results yet, is expected to release them after Tuesday's market close.
Michigan added that residents can return to normal food handling and decide according to their own risk tolerance.
A Sweetgreen in downtown Manhattan was busy around noon Friday. Customer Sherine Naveed, a 35-year-old laser technician from Long Island, said she still buys salads and prepackaged greens, and offered a simple explanation: "I have two kids. They're already pretty germ-y."
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