California lettuce growers discard crops as cyclosporiasis outbreak depresses demand
A cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to a California lettuce supplier has led to reduced consumer demand, prompting some growers in the Salinas Valley to discard portions of their lettuce harvest.
California lettuce producers are discarding portions of their crops after a cyclosporiasis outbreak reduced consumer demand for fresh lettuce.
Larry Cox, owner of Coastline Family Farms in the Salinas Valley, reported that he dumped about 300,000 pounds of romaine hearts after sales fell sharply.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has traced the parasite to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms, a California-based supplier. The outbreak has affected nearly 2,000 people in nine states, according to federal data.
Sales of fresh lettuce in July were down 8.7% compared with the previous year, representing a loss of more than 7.6 million pounds, based on NielsenIQ figures. Joelle Mosso of the Western Growers trade group said consumers are avoiding lettuce amid uncertainty, and many growers are plowing unsold produce back into the soil.
The decline has also impacted farm labor, with some growers reporting a 20% to 30% drop in sales and subsequent job cuts.
Industry analysts note that large food-borne illness outbreaks can have lasting effects on produce sales, referencing similar impacts from previous incidents such as the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach.