{"id":975472,"date":"2026-08-02T10:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T10:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/975472\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T10:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T10:25:17","slug":"cyclospora-in-philadelphia-lettuce-shoppers-on-alert-amid-13-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/975472\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclospora in Philadelphia: Lettuce shoppers on alert amid 13 cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

As a cyclospora parasite outbreak<\/a> continues to dominate headlines across the United States, consumers and producers in the Philadelphia area remain cautious.\n<\/p>\n

As of July 29, 13 cases have been confirmed by the city\u2019s Department of Public Health.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this number is larger than usual, it does include cases that were confirmed before the onset of the current outbreak \u2014 and includes cases in which the individual most likely contracted the illness while outside the city, or internationally,\u201d a department spokesperson said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n

Most confirmed cases in the U.S. involve iceberg lettuce products by Taylor Farms sold at Taco Bell, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n<\/p>\n

Despite a relatively low number of local cases, Philadelphia grocers say they are staying vigilant to ensure products remain clear of the parasite.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of right now, we have no restrictions on what we are purchasing,\u201d said Michael Anastasio, who owns a South Philly wholesaler that provides over 60 area restaurants with produce.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be notified by the distribution center and the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] if there was an issue,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Philly shoppers are wary amid cyclospora outbreak<\/p>\n

Still, Philadelphia shoppers say they remain on high alert.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely scary. We eat lettuce so much in our daily lives, and there is so much unknown about this parasite,\u201d said Mount Airy resident Lola Figueroa-Clark.\n<\/p>\n

As a whole, the United States has over 4,100 lab-confirmed cases, according to the CDC. However, because many recover without needing medical care, the number of infected people in this outbreak is likely higher.\n<\/p>\n

Weavers Way Co-op<\/a> in Ambler says buying from local farms can give consumers more confidence in their produce purchases.
\n\"PeopleCrops being tended to at Mort Brooks Memorial Farm at Awbury Arboretum (Courtesy Weavers Way Co-op)\n<\/p>\n

Many of Weavers Way\u2019s products include where the item was grown either on packaging or a nearby in-store sign. The co-op sources a large portion of its produce locally, including from farms in Lancaster, New Jersey, and even on the farm at W.B. Saul Agricultural High School in Philadelphia\u2019s Roxborough section.\u00a0<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

The co-op partners with Mort Brooks Memorial Farm<\/a> at Awbury Arboretum and its very own Weavers Way Farm Market<\/a> to supply its Philadelphia and surrounding-area markets with fresh produce.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s open and local, we\u2019re gonna know if something breaks out,\u201d said Karl Smith, manager at Weavers Way Co-op in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
\n\"FreshFresh vegetables for sale in the produce aisle of Weavers Way Co-op in Ambler, Pennsylvania. (Maura Fecak\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n

Similarly to Weavers Way, Philadelphia businesses such as Riverwards Produce<\/a> and Philly Foodworks<\/a> focus on selling locally grown produce.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":975473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,212226,60878,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-975472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-fresh-produce","tag-outbreaks","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117025437891868144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=975472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/975472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/975473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=975472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=975472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=975472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}