Restaurants, schools, hospitals and other institutions across Virginia that rely on Sysco could see changes in where their iceberg lettuce comes from after the nation's largest food distributor stopped buying the product from Mexico.
The move comes as health officials investigate a separate salmonella outbreak potentially linked to jalapeños distributed to Chipotle and other food-service retailers in multiple states.
Sysco CEO Kevin Hourican told Reuters Tuesday that the company is no longer buying iceberg lettuce from Mexico or from Taylor Farms, whose shredded lettuce has been linked to a widening cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people and been associated with two deaths in Michigan.
"We're not buying iceberg lettuce from them, and we're not buying it from Mexico," Hourican said.
Sysco's decision comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 10,468 laboratory-confirmed, domestically acquired cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1. The illnesses have resulted in 517 hospitalizations and two deaths and have been reported in 47 states.
The CDC is also reviewing more than 12,255 additional cases that have not been laboratory-confirmed or still require further investigation, including many reported by Michigan. State totals may be higher because some include both probable and confirmed cases.
Cyclosporiasis cases occur every year, but illnesses associated with the lettuce outbreak have been concentrated in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
So far this year, 162 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported in Virginia, according to surveillance figures released Monday by the state's health department, an increase of 36 since last week. Eighty-nine cases are known to be domestically acquired, a figure that increased by 23 cases over the past week. Thirty-seven cases have undetermined origins, and 36 were acquired internationally.
The Virginia Department of Health notes that some Virginia cyclosporiasis cases have reported travel to and exposures in states impacted by the large multistate outbreak.
Cyclosporiasis symptoms typically begin about a week after infection and most commonly include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating, gas, nausea and fatigue. Without treatment, symptoms may last a month or longer and can disappear before returning.
The two deaths were reported in Michigan but have not been specifically linked to the Taylor Farms lettuce at the center of the narrower federal investigation. State health officials said both people had significant underlying health conditions that may have been affected by cyclosporiasis and dehydration.
Sysco halted sales and distribution of Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico in mid-July and conducted a voluntary recall before Taylor Farms issued its official recall, Hourican told Reuters. The distributor is now obtaining lettuce from other countries and growing regions.
The decision could affect restaurants, hospitals, schools, stadiums and other institutions that obtain food through Sysco. Hourican said the company has continued to meet customers' lettuce needs, though replacing the volume Taylor Farms supplied has been a challenge.
Separately, health officials are investigating jalapeños served at Chipotle restaurants as a possible source of a salmonella outbreak.
Chipotle said the jalapeños were distributed to several food-service retailers in multiple states. The company removed them from select restaurants and replaced them with jalapeños from different growers after identifying the ingredient as a possible link among the illnesses.
It was not immediately clear whether any Chipotle restaurants or other food-service businesses in Virginia received jalapeños from the lot under investigation.
Minnesota health officials said they were investigating at least 110 salmonella cases. Of 84 people interviewed, 75 said they had eaten at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14. Others reported eating at a variety of other Mexican-style restaurants.
The Food and Drug Administration began tracing multiple ingredients July 22 after state officials and the CDC identified a cluster of salmonella illnesses. The agency has not confirmed the source of the outbreak and said it would release more information if investigators identify an actionable public-health risk.
Salmonella infections can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, headaches and loss of appetite. Symptoms typically begin six hours to six days after exposure and last four to seven days, according to the CDC.
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