Fear of explosion diarrhea appears to be scaring customers away from salad purveyors in business districts and supermarkets across the US.
On Sunday, July 11, as news of a cyclospora outbreak — possibly linked to contaminated lettuce — hit the headlines, traffic in Chopt dropped 7.1 percent, compared to average Sunday traffic in 2026, according to Placer.ai data. On the same day, foot traffic at Panera Bread was down 7.4 percent, and Sweetgreen was down 3.1 percent, compared to those average chains on Sunday.
While Placer.ai told WIRED it has “a few days of data to work with,” the company says the drop in visitors to places with “lettuce-heavy menus” began on July 10.
Industry estimates suggest customers are more likely to ditch salad-heavy chains, with foot traffic at all fast-casual chains like McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, and Wendy’s up 0.8 percent compared to their typical Sunday traffic. Traffic for all mainstream chains—whose menus tend to feature fresher products than fast-food rivals—was down 2.4 percent.
None of these salad chains have been linked to the outbreak, which may have sickened nearly 7,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest estimates. In fact, federal authorities have not named any ingredient, grower, or supplier as a possible cause.
However, the Department of Health and Human Services in Michigan, the state at the center of the outbreak, described lettuce or salad greens as a “possible source.” Past cyclospora outbreaks have been tied to green produce, including herbs, raspberries, and lettuce. The easiest way to kill the parasite is heat, and people often cook berries or fresh vegetables.
Wall Street also seems spooked by the outbreak of turbo diarrhoea. At press time, Sweetgreen shares were down 23.3 percent over the past five days. (Chopt and Panera Bread are privately traded companies.) None of the “lettuce-heavy” chains responded to WIRED’s request for comment.
While Sweetgreen’s stock is suffering, the only chain with suspected links to the outbreak is Taco Bell. Some locations in the Detroit area posted notices saying they were “currently unable to sell lettuce, cilantro onions, pico de gallo, and guacamole due to the nationwide recall,” and the Washington Post reported that health officials are investigating whether the chain played a role in the outbreak.
Shares of Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, have fallen 7.2 percent in the past five days. Placer.ai found that Taco Bell’s foot traffic was down 5.8 percent on July 11 compared to average Sunday traffic. In Michigan—where the number of cases has reached 4,312—traffic is down 11.5 percent from Sunday’s average. Concerns widespread online about the dangers of getting the parasite may continue to keep gordita buyers away.
However, not everyone is afraid of leafy greens. Two customers outside the Sweetgreen location in Manhattan’s Financial District told WIRED Thursday that they hadn’t even heard of a cyclospora outbreak. New York has far fewer cases than Michigan, with 510 cases so far in 2026. There are more than 380 in New York City, however, which is a three-fold increase from last year on this day, according to the local health department.
Outside of Chopt a few blocks away, Victoria Atweh had nothing but good things to say about her first visit to the salad chain.
Regarding the cyclospora outbreak, Atweh says, “I honestly didn’t think about it.”
