Is Fresh Produce Safe Again as Historic Cyclospora Outbreak Recedes?

The largest cyclospora outbreak in American history is receding, leaving behind not just the memory of widespread illness but a deeper reckoning with how the nation's fresh produce reaches its tables. Thousands fell ill across multiple states after contaminated lettuce and jalapeños moved silently through a supply chain built for efficiency rather than caution. As case counts fall and shoppers cautiously return to the produce aisle, the crisis has shifted from one of acute danger to one of harder, slower questions — about systemic vulnerability, institutional accountability, and the kind of tr