The Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people in the United States is drawing new attention to decades-long changes in the way fresh produce moves around the country.
While law enforcement officials work to identify the original source of the contamination, some food safety experts say the industry’s centralized sourcing and distribution network, which has gone through a wave of consolidation, could help turn what could once have been an isolated contamination event into a multistate outbreak.
“The general trends that are happening in the food industry, the way food is sourced and distributed, are playing some role here,” said Dr. David Relman, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University.
The long incubation period of the Cyclospora parasite, the difficulty in tracing its path, and what some experts have criticized as the government’s erratic response are contributing factors to the spread of the infection. Some experts say the structure of the food system is also at play.
“As food sourcing and distribution becomes more integrated, what used to be a very localized contamination problem may be pooled and redistributed and now become a widely distributed contamination problem,” Relman said.
Marion Nestle, a professor emeritus of nutrition, food research and public health at New York University, said the industry’s contraction has amplified the impact of any contamination outbreaks.
“Integration means that if something goes wrong, there will be a big problem,” Nestlé said.
Centralized processing could further expand the scope of the outbreak, she said.
The current FDA investigation into cystosis focuses on shredded iceberg lettuce distributed through Taylor Farms’ food service operations, which delivered it to Taco Bell restaurants and other food service customers in multiple states.
Relman cited bagged lettuce as an example of how changes in distribution can spread foodborne illness.
“Think of the difference between a head of lettuce and a bag of chopped lettuce that could have been harvested many times,” he says. “These bags are now produced in large quantities and distributed through far-flung distribution networks.”
Supply chain integration
A package of Taylor Farms salad kits is sold at the Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store in Redondo Beach, California on February 23, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
The evolution of the industry towards fewer distributors is driven by increased efficiency. Nestlé said these improvements for companies come with food safety trade-offs.
“Bigger isn’t necessarily better,” she says. “The larger the supplier, the greater the potential for contamination.”
Over the past several decades, U.S. agriculture and food distribution have steadily consolidated as companies seek greater efficiency and national scale, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For example, salad producer Taylor Farms, which has come under intense scrutiny over recent cyclospora outbreaks, has expanded significantly through a series of acquisitions over the past decade, including Earthbound Farms in 2019, Curation Foods in 2021, and most recently Equinox Growers in March.
On the other hand, restaurant supply is also becoming increasingly concentrated, with broadline distributors such as: Cisco, american food and performance food group We serve hundreds of thousands of restaurant and institutional kitchens across the country.
In 2015, federal regulators blocked Cisco’s $8.2 billion bid to buy US Foods on antitrust grounds, but both companies have continued to grow through small acquisitions of regional distributors and fresh food processors.
Sysco, the largest food service distributor in the United States, has expanded its fresh produce business over the past decade by acquiring regional distributors such as Paragon Foods in Pennsylvania, The Coastal Companies in the Mid-Atlantic, and Greco & Sons, a specialty food distributor with 10 distribution centers across the United States.
A tractor-trailer at a Cisco Corporation distribution center on January 30, 2024, in Halfmoon, New York.
Angus Mordaunt | Bloomberg | Getty Images
These deals expand Cisco’s reach of fresh produce and value-added processing, allowing more restaurants to source their ingredients through the same distribution network.
In 2016, US Foods acquired Freshway Foods, which processes, repackages and distributes fresh fruits and vegetables in the eastern half of the United States.
Some food distribution experts believe that the small number of companies participating in the industry makes problems more complex when they arise.
But not everyone agrees that integration is the enemy.
Timothy Litton, a health and safety regulatory expert at Georgia State University, said large agricultural producers and processors often operate more sophisticated food safety systems than small farms because they have the financial resources to invest in inspection, traceability, auditing and quality control.
“It’s not entirely clear whether large establishments have more food safety problems than smaller establishments,” Litton said.
He added that in California, farmers’ markets are being investigated for E. coli contamination of fresh produce grown by small farmers.
“While some farmers may be very concerned about the quality of their product, the organic model also takes a more holistic view of farming, which often involves animals near the crops,” Litton says. “The combination of animals and crops can pose food safety issues.”
Still, Lytton acknowledged that if contamination occurs within a large handler network, the resulting distribution-level recalls will be more widespread and difficult to manage.
CNBC contacted a group of major food suppliers about safety precautions and tracing procedures. Sysco pointed CNBC to the International Foodservice Distribution Association.
“The food service supply chain that feeds our communities is complex, and food service distributors are highly skilled at tracking and tracing the food they distribute,” said an IFDA spokesperson. “They maintain robust records identifying the origin, internal movement, and recipients of all products they handle, and have a track record of providing critical traceback information to FDA within 24 to 48 hours to support foodborne illness outbreak investigations and quickly remove products from commerce.”
Relman emphasized that consolidation itself does not cause pollution, but it does change the outcome if pollution occurs.
“Systems like the food inspection system or the public health system in general are often not evaluated until they break down,” Relman said. “We can’t keep doing that.”
