Lettuce parasite outbreak traced to Taylor Farms hits Chopt, Sweetgreen sales

ABC News — Money—Health investigators traced the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, pointing to a single upstream source rather than scattered contamination across producers. Fast-casual chains that lean heavily on fresh salad ingredients have felt the effect on foot traffic, compounding a stretch already squeezed by elevated produce prices industry-wide. The parasite causes diarrhea, adding a health scare on top of the affordability pressures already weighing on the segment. It remains unclear how many confirmed illnesses have been linked to the outbreak or whether other chains sourcing from Taylor Farms have been affected.

• ABC News — Money — Chopt traffic down 12% … Sweetgreen spending down 10 points from a year earlier
• ABC News — Health — Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times
• The Independent (UK) — Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants