Cyclospora outbreak dents Taco Bell traffic as lettuce worries spread
Placer.ai data reported by CBS News shows restaurant visits fell as a lettuce-linked cyclospora outbreak widened to nine states.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The cyclospora outbreak is hitting Taco Bell and other lettuce-forward chains where it hurts: the lunch crowd. Foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai gave CBS News data showing visits fell at several restaurant brands on July 18 as consumers reacted to an outbreak tied to lettuce from Mexico.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told CBS News on Friday that illnesses connected to the cyclospora parasite had spread to four additional states, bringing the total to nine. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that the outbreak has also been linked to at least one other food product that has not yet been identified.
Cyclosporiasis is the illness caused by the cyclospora parasite. CBS News reported that the outbreak has caused explosive diarrhea, a detail that helps explain why some shoppers and diners are taking a hard pass on greens for now.
How is the cyclospora outbreak affecting restaurants?
Placer.ai’s figures, reported by CBS News, compared visits on July 18 with an average Saturday between Jan. 1 and July 6. Taco Bell, which CBS News reported had served recalled lettuce at some locations before pulling it from menus, saw the sharpest drop among the chains listed.
- Taco Bell: down 29.8%
- Chopt: down 24%
- Panera Bread: down 9.1%
- Cava: down 4.7%
- Sweetgreen: down 4.7%
CBS News reported that Taco Bell, Chopt, Panera Bread, Cava and Sweetgreen did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lower traffic.
Sweetgreen addressed customers in a post on X, saying it “has not been identified in connection with the current cyclospora outbreak,” according to CBS News. The company also said its food safety experts were monitoring the situation.
Taco Bell announced a promotion on Instagram on Wednesday for $1 lettuce-free enchiritos, CBS News reported. The post did not mention the cyclosporiasis outbreak, and CBS News said it was unclear whether the deal brought more customers into restaurants.
What are grocery stores seeing?
The lettuce chill is also showing up in grocery aisles. Stew Leonard’s, an eight-store grocery chain in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, told CBS News that its lettuce sales were down about 11%.
Stew Leonard Jr., the company’s president and CEO, told CBS News that customers were asking whether lettuce was safe to eat and were backing away from it. He said the uncertainty was weighing on store sales.
Leonard told CBS News that he advises cautious shoppers to choose hydroponic lettuce, which is grown in a greenhouse setting with purified and filtered water. He said that is what he is eating at home.
He also said he understands why customers are wary, telling CBS News that people do not want to risk two weeks of diarrhea. Even so, he said regular lettuce sales had begun improving over the past couple of days and that he expects shoppers to return to lettuce.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.