Credit: Andrew Greenstein
Amid the cyclosaladspora outbreak, restaurants – especially those which specialize in salads – are going the extra mile to reassure diners that the produce they serve is safe.
Scott Henderson, the co-founder and CEO of Lafayette-based Salad Station, says whereas the lettuce responsible for the outbreak was imported from Mexico, his company takes a different approach that does not involve customs.
“Our produce … does not come from Mexico (and) is not pre-cut,” says Henderson. “Our lettuces are sourced from the Salinas Valley in California and then Yuma, Arizona,depending on the growing season, but our lettuces are always domestic.”
Henderson says the company has been in close contact with all of its suppliers throughout the entire ordeal.
“Initially, when we first started, probably for the first week or two, we were getting notifications almost by the hour, multiple times a day, from our distributors and suppliers as they’re tracing them back,” Henderson says.
Since the start of the outbreak, the company has communicated with its customers about how it ensures the safety of its produce, including resetting proper washing techniques with team members and reiterating the fact that all produce is domestically sourced.
Still, Henderson says the bottom line has suffered.
“We haven’t seen much improvement in sales since this has happened,” says Henderson. “It has hurt sales.”
Henderson says he’s afraid something else is going to suffer as a result of this outbreak — people’s overall health.
“It is frustrating that this has pushed consumers for a reason not to eat healthy and to eat unhealthier things that have worser impacts on health,” Henderson says.
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