The largest outbreak of cyclosporiasis ever recorded in the history of the United States has begun to hit the restaurant and supermarket economy hard, with drastic declines in customer traffic and lettuce sales, according to data published by CBS News on Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that the outbreak, linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico and distributed by Taylor Farms, has spread to nine states in the country: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
The CDC reported 1,947 infected individuals who stated they had eaten at Taco Bell restaurants between June 22 and July 20, with at least 98 hospitalizations and no fatalities.
Nationwide, confirmed cases exceed 4,000, with over 7,400 additional cases still under review.
The economic impact has been immediate.
According to the pedestrian traffic analysis platform Placer.ai, on July 17 —the day Taylor Farms announced the voluntary recall of its lettuce— visits to Taco Bell dropped nearly 31% below the average foot traffic for Fridays during the first half of the year, marking the most significant daily decline among all the chains analyzed.
On July 18, Taco Bell experienced a decline of 29.8% compared to an average Saturday. Other chains also suffered that day: Chopt fell by 24%, Panera Bread by 9.1%, and both Cava and Sweetgreen by 4.7% each.
The pullback of consumers also reached supermarkets. Stew Leonard's, a chain with eight stores in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, reported a drop of approximately 11% in its lettuce sales.
"There is a lot of confusion in stores right now," Stew Leonard Jr., president and CEO of the chain, told CBS News. "Customers are asking if they can eat lettuce and are avoiding it. There is reluctance in the market, and I believe that’s why our sales have declined."
The executive recommended choosing hydroponic lettuce as a safer alternative: "It’s grown in a greenhouse with controlled soil, and the water is purified and filtered. It’s what I eat at home," he stated.
The crisis of trust has been exacerbated by contradictory messages from the authorities. On July 18, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms tested positive for Cyclospora; the following day, it corrected itself and stated that the result was a false positive.
And although Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that the outbreak is "under control," the population is only thinking about the expansion of the outbreak and the thousands of confirmed cases.
"The scientific information is confusing. The regulations are confusing. Much of this case actually hinges on the confusion surrounding it," stated Molly McPherson, a crisis communication expert.
Independent businesses have also been impacted. Sean Alexander, owner of the Build-A-Salad restaurant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, lamented that their daily customer count has dropped from between 150 and 200 to just about 10. "It's a very harsh blow, and we really aren't protected against situations like this."
Taco Bell launched a tortilla filled with no lettuce for a dollar in an attempt to win back customers, while Chipotle and Sweetgreen rushed to clarify that they do not serve iceberg lettuce. However, none of these initiatives seem to have significantly reversed the decline in foot traffic.
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