With growing cases of explosive diarrhea around the country, restaurants have had to make some changes.
Street Beet, a vegan restaurant in Detroit, has been stripping the first layer of lettuce heads and double washing them. Around a quarter of guests have been asking for no lettuce in their orders, and others have requested omitting pico de gallo, cilantro and other green-heavy ingredients from their orders. The restaurant’s chicken Caesar wrap — made with tofu chicken and a miso dressing — is one its most popular offerings, but there’s been a drop in orders.
Overall, sales were down $3,000 in the past week compared to the same period in previous years.
“We are attributing it to the community’s concern about eating out and commercial produce,” said Danae Florias, the restaurant’s director of operations. “It was a noticeable decrease, and we expect it to continue this way until the outbreak lessens or is contained, and the source has been identified.”
Is salad as we know it over? No specific food, grower or supplier has been identified as the source of this summer’s outbreak of cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that has been linked to cases of explosive diarrhea across the country, particularly in Michigan and Ohio. But salad greens and fresh berries, which have been linked to cases in the past, could be a fast track to days of digestive distress.
