Aug 12, 2026 · 35 min · 11 segments
It’s afternoon in our journey From Sunrise to Starlight, and we’re spreading out the picnic blanket. This week, we’re following the hidden microbial pathways running through a summer meal. From farms…
Heather McSherryHost
And our picnic actually begins earlier that morning in the kitchen, where the kitchen counter is covered with the beginnings of lunch.
There's bread, deli turkey, cheese, lettuce, a container of berries, and a melon waiting to be cut.
Maybe there's a bowl of pasta salad chilling in the refrigerator, or chicken salad made the night before.
Take the strawberries Before they ever reached the kitchen, they were growing close to the ground in a field, where their microbial environment included soil, water, wildlife, insects, farm workers, harvesting equipment, containers, and everything they encountered during packing and transport.
Fresh produce presents an unusual food safety challenge because we often eat it without a final cooking step that would kill the microorganisms picked up somewhere along the way.
Washing can remove dirt and reduce some contamination, but it can't guarantee that every pathogen is gone, a lesson we've been learning the hard way this summer with cyclospora.
And that long journey from field to plate is one reason fresh produce appears repeatedly in outbreaks of foodborne disease.
Salmonella and pathogenic strains of E. coli can contaminate fruits and vegetables, and leafy greens have been implicated in numerous outbreaks.
And as we know, fresh produce also gives us Cyclospora chiatinensis, a microscopic parasite that causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis.
In the U.S., cyclospora outbreaks have been associated with fresh produce including leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables, and the seasonal pattern often places it squarely in the middle of summer.
In fact, as I'm recording this episode in August 2026, the U.S. is experiencing an unusually large season of cyclosporiasis.
Since May 1st, more than 10,000 laboratory-confirmed domestically acquired cases have been reported to the CDC, with thousands of additional reports requiring investigation.
Michigan, the epicenter of the outbreak, has alone confirmed over 12,400 cases and reported two deaths.
FDA traceback and epidemiological evidence converged on iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms growers in central Mexico, leading to a recall of lettuce.
And cyclospora isn't the only fresh produce investigation unfolding as I record this.
Coast Citrus Distributors recalled potentially contaminated jalapenos, and on August 9th, Taylor Fresh Foods recalled several finished products made with peppers supplied through that recall.
Two different pathogens, two different investigations, and two different pieces of produce, all during the same summer.
They make the long journey of our strawberries or our lettuce, herbs, or peppers considerably less abstract.
There's another reason I'm paying particularly close attention to cyclospora this summer.
In July last year, CDC substantially narrowed required surveillance through FoodNet, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network.
And our picnic actually begins earlier that morning in the kitchen, where the kitchen counter is covered with the beginnings of lunch.
There's bread, deli turkey, cheese, lettuce, a container of berries, and a melon waiting to be cut.
Maybe there's a bowl of pasta salad chilling in the refrigerator, or chicken salad made the night before.
Take the strawberries Before they ever reached the kitchen, they were growing close to the ground in a field, where their microbial environment included soil, water, wildlife, insects, farm workers, harvesting equipment, containers, and everything they encountered during packing and transport.
Fresh produce presents an unusual food safety challenge because we often eat it without a final cooking step that would kill the microorganisms picked up somewhere along the way.
Washing can remove dirt and reduce some contamination, but it can't guarantee that every pathogen is gone, a lesson we've been learning the hard way this summer with cyclospora.
And that long journey from field to plate is one reason fresh produce appears repeatedly in outbreaks of foodborne disease.
Salmonella and pathogenic strains of E. coli can contaminate fruits and vegetables, and leafy greens have been implicated in numerous outbreaks.
And as we know, fresh produce also gives us Cyclospora chiatinensis, a microscopic parasite that causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis.
In the U.S., cyclospora outbreaks have been associated with fresh produce including leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables, and the seasonal pattern often places it squarely in the middle of summer.
In fact, as I'm recording this episode in August 2026, the U.S. is experiencing an unusually large season of cyclosporiasis.
Since May 1st, more than 10,000 laboratory-confirmed domestically acquired cases have been reported to the CDC, with thousands of additional reports requiring investigation.
Michigan, the epicenter of the outbreak, has alone confirmed over 12,400 cases and reported two deaths.
FDA traceback and epidemiological evidence converged on iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms growers in central Mexico, leading to a recall of lettuce.
And cyclospora isn't the only fresh produce investigation unfolding as I record this.
Coast Citrus Distributors recalled potentially contaminated jalapenos, and on August 9th, Taylor Fresh Foods recalled several finished products made with peppers supplied through that recall.
Two different pathogens, two different investigations, and two different pieces of produce, all during the same summer.
They make the long journey of our strawberries or our lettuce, herbs, or peppers considerably less abstract.
There's another reason I'm paying particularly close attention to cyclospora this summer.
In July last year, CDC substantially narrowed required surveillance through FoodNet, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network.
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