Marsha Goldstein of North Attleboro visited the White Barn Farm in Wrentham to pick up some fresh lettuce because she said the Cyclospora outbreak has her freaked out.
“It’s pretty scary,” Goldstein said,“ but I know I can buy lettuce. I guess it’s [the outbreak] mostly in greens. I can buy things here and not get sick from them.”
State health officials have said that the food-borne illness causing “explosive diarrhea” in other states hasn’t hit Massachusetts particularly hard.
But nervous shoppers are still thinking twice about where they’re getting their produce and are turning to local farm stands where lettuce and other vegetables are grown locally.
The commonwealth has seen just 18 cases of Cyclospora this year. The Massachusetts Department of Public Healthsaid seasonal increases are common this time of year. Cyclospora is a parasite that can make people sick with gastrointestinal issues.
White Barn farm owner Chris Kantlehner said they’re seeing many new customers looking for produce that’s homegrown. He said he’s hearing a lot of anxiety.
“Definitely people are asking our staff certain questions,” Kantlehner said. “We’re trying to educate them the best we can.”
By Friday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration said that the outbreak is linked to supplier Taylor Farms and shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell in five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
At Wards Berry Farm in Sharon, Communications Director Skylar Daley said people coming to the farm are looking to ease their fears.
“We have been assuring people that local small-scale farming is a safe way to go, because the fields are smaller,” she said.
“A lot of our produce is grown with drip irrigation, which waters from below,” she explained, “which prevents contamination, as well. And generally, with a smaller farm, there are less hands on your food, so it’s as safe as you can be.”
Julie Robichaud of Mansfield was blueberry picking at Wards Berry Farm. She said she would normally be shopping at the supermarket, but because of Cyclospora, she planned to buy some lettuce and basil at the farm.
“I feel that it’s safer and everything here is locally grown,” she said.
Karen Schwalbe, executive director of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, said an unintended consequence of all of this is that it recognizes that local farmers work hard to put good, safe produce on our communities’ tables.
“You can do exactly what’s happening right now. You can go talk to your farmer, you can talk about your concerns, you can talk about the situation and hear how they’re addressing it. You’ve got a direct communication with the person who grows your food, and there’s no replacing that,” she said.
The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture has a food safety program with regulations and traceability that works to inspect and oversee food handling.
She added that “Massachusetts is the first in the country with direct market sales per capita,” and that “customers are the best thing for our local farms.”
Piedad De Sousa, a native of Portugal, who now lives in Foxborough, said she shops at White Barn Farm because farm-to-table food is homegrown, delicious and safer.
“I think it’s fresher, reminds me of back home, my roots growing up on the farm,” she said. “So, I love coming here.”
Health experts say people can protect themselves by making sure their produce is thoroughly washed.
Kantlehner, the owner of White Barn Farm, said customers are looking for reassurance about safety protocols. He echoed that shopping locally reduces the amount of hands touching the products.
“When you get something from all the way across the country, how it’s getting packed, where it’s getting washed, all of those things we do not know,” he explained.
“At White Barn Farm, our lettuce gets picked in the morning, goes right into our clean dunk tanks that we clean out every day after washing, put in a cooler and then sold right away,” he said.
The Massachusetts DPH said that outside the US, in places where Cyclospora is endemic, exposure can be related to consuming fresh, uncooked produce or drinking contaminated water.
The next update on Cyclospora numbers in Massachusetts is due to be released on Aug. 1.
