Has explosive diarrhea killed salad?

By Zoe Sottile, Leah Asmelash, CNN

(CNN) — With growing cases of explosive diarrhea around the country, restaurants have had to make some changes.

Street Beet, a vegan restaurant in Detroit, has been stripping the first layer of lettuce heads and double washing them. Around a quarter of guests have been asking for no lettuce in their orders, and others have requested omitting pico de gallo, cilantro and other green-heavy ingredients from their orders. The restaurant’s chicken Caesar wrap — made with tofu chicken and a miso dressing — is one its most popular offerings, but there’s been a drop in orders.

Overall, sales were down $3,000 in the past week compared to the same period in previous years.

“We are attributing it to the community’s concern about eating out and commercial produce,” said Danae Florias, the restaurant’s director of operations. “It was a noticeable decrease, and we expect it to continue this way until the outbreak lessens or is contained, and the source has been identified.”

Is salad as we know it over? No specific food, grower or supplier has been identified as the source of this summer’s outbreak of cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that has been linked to cases of explosive diarrhea across the country, particularly in Michigan and Ohio. But salad greens and fresh berries, which have been linked to cases in the past, could be a fast track to days of digestive distress.

Hannah Hargrove, a pediatric dietitian in Detroit, says her family has shifted how they eat, especially after some of her friends contracted the parasite (they all recovered within a few days). Her family has opted for frozen berries and vegetables, fruit with thick skins and peels, and canned fruit in place of fresh produce. While she’s still washing the fresh produce they are buying with just water, she’s paying “extra attention” to how well she’s washing, rather than just doing a quick rinse.

She’s also worried that confusion over the outbreak could lead to unhealthy choices, noting that most people already don’t eat enough fiber.

“As a dietitian, the last thing I want to see is people not eating fruits and vegetables because of the outbreak,” Hargrove said.

“It sucks because it’s summer, when you want cold and refreshing things,” said Denise, an archivist in New York City, who has pivoted away from most fresh produce as cyclospora cases have spiked.

Since health authorities have recommended cooking produce to an internal temperature of 158 degrees to kill the tiny parasite, she’s considering blanching fruit so she can still enjoy it. And she’s sticking to produce you can peel, like avocados, bananas and lemons.

But Caesar wraps — usually a favorite — are off the menu for now. So are cherries, which are reaching their seasonal peak, and gyros stuffed with fresh lettuce.

It’s a nightmare for fruit- and veggie-lovers across the country — and plant-based restaurants, which rely on fresh produce for much of their menus, are feeling the consequences.

Parasite? What parasite?

Not everyone seems so concerned. In New York City — where hundreds of people have been sickened by cyclospora — veg-forward lunch spots were still busy as usual on Tuesday afternoon.

Employees at the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, outpost of salad behemoth Sweetgreen said that some customers had asked about the kitchen’s cleaning protocols before placing their orders. But the location had seen no drop in sales over the past week. Neither had the neighboring locations of Cava — a Mediterranean-style chain that serves salad bowls loaded with fresh vegetables — or the fast-casual Dig Inn.

Portia’s Cafe, a vegan restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, which has seen more than 360 confirmed cases since June 1, said it had a slower Tuesday than normal, but hadn’t noticed a significant difference in sales otherwise. While the restaurant is following state health protocols, some of the veggies it uses are grown in house, and others are sourced locally.

But online at least, cyclospora is inescapable. Even Merriam-Webster released guidance: “Please avoid all salads, including word.” A Sweetgreen post on X teased a bowl based on the winners of “Love Island,” only to be flooded with replies making parasite jokes. The salad chain didn’t respond to a request for comment from CNN.

A representative for Taco Bell said the chain “has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure” though public officials have not confirmed a link between the outbreak and the franchise or to any specific “ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer.”

Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs and Food Safety Officer Laurie Schalow said the company is “aware of the Cyclospora investigation and at this time, we don’t believe the ingredients we source are associated.”

‘Outbreaks like this, and possibly worse, will happen again’

It’s not shocking that people are scared of cyclospora. Once contracted, the parasite basically results in a bathroom nightmare. Watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating can last for weeks, and those stricken with the parasite have reported being camped at their toilet for days.

“Days 1-5 were the worst,” said one southeast Michigan Reddit user who was experiencing more than two weeks of digestive issues. “I feel so weak, fatigued, stressed, uncomfortable, and tbh in pain.”

“I have NEVER had any poo like that in my life,” another wrote.

While the exact cause or specific origin of this year’s outbreak is still under investigation, the parasite spreads when people eat food or drink water contaminated with feces, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Feces can infiltrate large commercial farms through a variety of ways: poor labor conditions, fertilizers, runoff from meat and poultry plants or polluted waterways.

Some politicians have framed the outbreak within the Trump administration’s larger dismantling of health care infrastructure. In 2025, the CDC made tracking cyclospora and other food-borne illnesses optional, only requiring the surveillance of salmonella and E. coli.

“Outbreaks like this, and possibly worse, will happen again and again until we change course,” said Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

Not all fresh produce may be impacted. Gotham Greens, a regional indoor farming company that operates across the US, said on Instagram that its products are safe regardless of the outbreak since its salad greens and herbs are “grown in controlled greenhouse environments, protected from many of the outside conditions that can affect field-grown produce.”

Food and wellness influencers have urged consumers to ditch commercial grocery stores and buy produce from local farmers’ markets and small farmers, instead.

Jeff Stainthorp, the owner of a small farm in Washington state, said he’s heard from customers who are scared about the parasite, even though there’s no major outbreak in the state.

But the few points of contact between the field and the end consumer — he’s present for every step of the harvest — make him confident his produce is safe, especially given Washington’s lack of safety notices or recalls. While small farms aren’t immune from disease outbreaks, like if they stem from a contaminated water supply, their size makes monitoring safety practices easier.

At large commercial farms, “exploitative labor practices” can drive contamination, he said. Workers are often paid per unit of harvest, which disincentives them from taking bathroom breaks or time off work if they’re feeling sick, he said.

The cyclospora panic might have a silver lining, Stainthorp said: helping people understand the flaws of America’s food system.

“I really only hope that this maybe wakes some people up to think about how our food system is currently structured,” he said, “how it’s not necessarily good for the planet, it’s not good for our health, and it’s not good for the people who have to work in it.”

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