One of the biggest food safety outbreaks in U.S. history is putting pressure on the foodservice industry to prepare for the future.

Since June, at least 11,000 people across 47 states have been sickened by an outbreak of cyclosporasis, with an additional 12,000 possible cases still under investigation by the CDC, with the foodborne illness crisis shaping up to be one of the worst in modern U.S. history.

The average American consumer might react by avoiding the prepackaged lettuce section of the produce aisle or thinking twice before purchasing a salad for lunch, but for restaurant operators — especially those that source produce from known outbreak source Taylor Farms, like Taco Bell — consequences can be challenging to navigate.

“What’s unusual about this case is the size of it. The numbers of cases dwarf almost anything we’ve ever seen before,” Dr. David Acheson, global food safety consultant, said. “Every now and again, we get big outbreaks, but they are few and far between. … This one is massive, and that is because there is likely more than one or two sources of cyclospora happening at the same time.”

The FDA investigation initially focused on shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico to Taco Bell based on traceback evidence, but the test was later confirmed to be a false positive. However, evidence and clusters of the parasitic outbreak still point to Taylor Farms as a likely source, and the company’s voluntary recall of its shredded lettuce product still stands.

While there are hundreds of foodborne illness outbreaks reported annually, this current cyclosporiasis crisis is unusual, not just for its size and scope, but also because the FDA rarely names restaurants (like Taco Bell, in this case) in its food safety recalls and announcements. The subsequent walk-back of the initial test result has also added to the confusion for consumers trying to understand what caused the outbreak and whether the implicated lettuce remains a concern.

On top of the cyclospora outbreak, there have been reports this summer of multiple other smaller but equally high-profile outbreaks affecting restaurants and retail. For example, earlier this month, the CDC opened an investigation into a multi-state outbreak of salmonella associated with jalapeño peppers, which was again linked to Taylor Farms. As a result, Taylor Farms has recalled its freshly prepared guacamole and salsa products, and restaurant chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba have quickly pulled jalapeños from certain stores.

Many have pointed to this massive outbreak as a natural consequence of federal budget cuts to food safety programs like FoodNet, which the Trump administration reduced in scope last year and no longer actively tracks certain pathogens like cyclospora. However, Acheson pointed out that FoodNet creates analysis of retrospective trends of outbreaks and does not trace current outbreaks.

More likely, cyclospora is simply much more difficult to trace than other foodborne pathogens.

“The technology we have is very good at doing genetic analysis on bacteria like salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, but we can’t do a whole genome sequence on cyclospora,” Acheson said.

Tracing cyclospora without the aid of genetic analysis is challenging enough, but the lifecycle of the pathogen is long, and could take weeks for symptoms to appear. Therefore, traceability programs would require patients to remember what they ate two weeks ago, leading to a higher probability of human error and false positives.

While larger restaurant operators might want to get ahead of the next foodborne illness outbreak by creating their own traceability programs, Acheson said that that these are “notoriously difficult and not well-done.”

“Many restaurants don’t keep any records,” he said. “They may have the invoice from the supplier, but that’s about it. So, traceability is important. … I think a lot of restaurant chains are going to be asking their suppliers if they have a cyclospora control program in place. On the one hand you’ve got the preventive side of it, like supply chain control, good agricultural practices, and water testing. … Then you have the reactive product, which is maintaining the records, so if there’s a need for traceback, you can activate that quickly.”

This summer, the FDA and CDC worked closely with Taco Bell to determine the source of the suspect lettuce. Since Taylor Farms grows about 40% of the lettuce found in salad kits at grocery stores, it became hard to avoid. Many salad-heavy restaurant chains like Sweetgreen and Cava were affected just because customers were nervous about eating lettuce.

Sales impact at both Sweetgreen and Taco Bell reached their peak the week of July 19, data from M Science analytics firm suggested.

“Since then, the trends have been steadily improving, but growth remains well below trends prior to the outbreak,” Matt Goodman, research analyst at M Science, said. “We do expect a full recovery for most brands, but also think trends could continue to languish, especially without clear guidance that the outbreak is over.”

Goodman contrasted the current cyclospora outbreak with the McDonald’s-traced E. coli outbreak from 2024, which, he said, impacted the fast-food giant for months afterward even though the source was quickly identified (unlike the cyclospora outbreak).

A 500-person survey released at the end of July by investment firm DA Davidson confirmed that “produce-heavy stocks” like Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen were heavily impacted, even though they were not directly named by the federal government, unlike Taco Bell. Indeed, Cava’s stock price has fallen nearly 14% this month, while Sweetgreen is down nearly 35% this month. However, the survey found that consumer behavior is still impacted much more by affordability and price point than food safety, and that 80% of respondents said they were purchasing food away from home “just as much or more” than they were a month ago.

Even when this outbreak of cyclosporiasis fades away, there will always be others, like the current salmonella outbreak of jalapeño peppers, and the listeria outbreak linked to soft cheeses. Therefore, experts suggest tracing all food supplies back to the source — ideally the specific farm. However, this becomes very difficult for smaller chains and independent restaurants.

“The larger restaurants have the resources to do it, because it’s not good enough to know you purchased it from Sysco or Compass — who did they get it from?” Acheson said. “A large chain has the horsepower and the finances to know that if they choose to. … This is complex and not inexpensive.”

Since the traceability system is flawed, response to a food safety crisis, including open communication and quick recall action, is just as important as prevention.

“Food systems today are more complex than ever, with ingredients and products moving through ever-changing global supply chains before reaching consumers,” James Davidson, senior director, food production at NSF, said. “No food system will ever be entirely risk-free, but every incident provides an opportunity to learn, adapt and raise the bar.”

Source https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/none/summer-foodborne-illness-cyclospora-others-test-restaurant-supply-chains