CLEVELAND — A Cleveland Italian food market has temporarily removed raw lettuce from its prepared foods as health officials investigate a Cyclospora outbreak affecting parts of the Midwest.
Gallucci’s Italian Foods said the decision is strictly precautionary. No illnesses have been linked to the store.
Customers visiting the market Wednesday found its normally full salad case empty. Lettuce was also removed from sandwiches and other prepared foods.
“Usually, it’s tons of salads,” customer Kristin Hauk said. “They have a meat salad, a chicken delight salad.”
The store posted a notice at its entrance and on social media explaining the temporary change.
Marc Kotora, a member of the Gallucci family, said the business decided to act after learning about cases reported in the Midwest.
“Food safety has always been a priority of ours,” Kotora said. “The last thing we want to do is make anyone sick. Food should be fun.”
Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause prolonged gastrointestinal illness. It is often associated with contaminated fresh produce, but experts stress that lettuce has not been confirmed as the source of every case connected to the current outbreak.
Ohio State University food safety specialist and professor Sanja Ilic said cooking is the most reliable way to eliminate Cyclospora. Washing produce may reduce some contamination but cannot guarantee the parasite is removed.
Because investigators have not identified the source of the contamination, experts also caution that buying produce from a farmers market or another specific retailer is not necessarily a safer option.
“Because we don’t know yet where the contamination is coming from, we do not recommend that as a protective measure,” said Ilic.
While lettuce remains off the menu, Gallucci’s is offering alternatives.
“We had a cucumber salad that was overwhelmingly popular, and we’re already sold out of it today,” Kotora said.
The store said it will continue monitoring guidance from public health officials before deciding when to return raw lettuce to its prepared foods.
