Long Island salad eateries pivot amid cyclospora outbreak

Foot traffic at Bango Bowls in Centereach has noticeably declined this week following the peak of a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of Americans.

Victoria Gramarossa, franchisee of the health-focused fast casual restaurant known for its menu of salads, acai bowls, sandwiches and poke bowls, attributed the slowdown on Tuesday afternoon to the outbreak, said to have spread primarily through lettuce.

On Monday, federal health officials said strong epidemiological evidence still pointed to lettuce grown by Taylor Farms in Mexico as a source, despite the FDA’s retraction of lab tests the agency said incorrectly identified the parasite on a sample of the grower’s lettuce.

And while Gramarossa's Bango Bowls, a fast-growing brand by Upstream Hospitality Group, doesn't use Taylor Farms, she said her team is taking extra precautions to help reassure customers.

"We do not serve iceberg [lettuce], we serve kale, romaine and spring mix," she said. "We also wash it." Gramarossa switched over to a different supplier from New Jersey yesterday because it was "significantly cheaper," she said. She didn't disclose her supplier. "We don’t even get product from that part of the country," she said.

A week and a half ago, Gramarossa bought an industrial grade "mixer/washer" which washes the greens as well.

"We’re doing all we can to make everybody feel safe," she said. "There’s not much other than educating ourselves on what is happening, what it’s happening to and then washing everything vigorously and informing our customers that we do not serve iceberg [lettuce.]" Bango Bowls has eight other outposts across Long Island, in Bay Shore, Bayport, East Setauket, Hauppauge, Massapequa Park, New Hyde Park and Plainview.

Patty Jackman, 55, of Riverhead, said she’s not afraid of the parasite. It doesn't factor in her choices at home or when she goes out to eat.

“I had raspberries in the fridge, I had lettuce, I’d still eat all the things that I was eating before,” she said. She works in the area and stopped by Bango Bowls in Centereach for the first time on Tuesday afternoon and got a Mediterranean avocado bowl.

Taylor, the $7 billion multinational that pioneered the prepackaged chopped salad market, said on its website that it would not source iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico for the remainder of the growing season, and that the company had experts there "investigating all potential sources of contamination." Taylor voluntarily recalled all of its lettuce gown in central Mexico on July 17. That recall covered 27 states, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey, but not New York. Dozens of Long Islanders and at least 576 people across New York State have been sickened by outbreaks of the microscopic parasite this spring and summer.

As of Friday, foot traffic was down at some other dining chains nationally compared with the day-of-the-week averages between Jan. 1 and July 6, according to Placer.ai, which tracks people’s movements based on cellphone usage. Taco Bell suffered the biggest drop — an 18.9% decline — after federal health officials named the chain in its investigation of the cyclosporiasis outbreak. Foot traffic fell 14.3% at Chopt, Placer.ai said. Both Chipotle and Panera Bread had close to a 7% drop in traffic, while Cava’s drop was less — at 4.2% — according to the firm.

Chipotle is "continuing to follow the cyclospora investigation very closely, and at this time, we don’t believe the ingredients we source are associated," Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs and food safety officer at the fast-casual chain, said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

Tracking the outbreak

In an email Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Nassau County Department of Health said there were 26 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis, including one hospitalization, in the county. New York City has logged 442 confirmed cases this year, a spokeswoman for the city health department, Chantal Gomez, wrote in an email.

In Michigan, one of the outbreak hot spots, state public officials on Monday reported 6,148 cases, including 102 hospitalizations.

Cyclospora infections, which are transmitted through fecal-contaminated water and food, can cause severe diarrhea. There are no reported deaths associated with this year’s outbreaks, but consumer unease and sometimes confusing communications surrounding the infection appear to be driving down restaurant traffic.

Also this week, Reuters reported that three law firms filed lawsuits against Taco Bell after federal health officials linked lettuce served at the chain to the cyclospora outbreaks.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.