Why is lettuce a common source of foodborne illness? What to know amid cyclospora outbreak

As cyclosporiasis cases reach a record high in the U.S., here’s why lettuce and other leafy greens are often a source of foodborne illness.

E. coli in romaine lettuce. Salmonella in salad greens. The ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce is far from the first time leafy greens have been implicated in the spread of a foodborne illness. But what makes lettuce so susceptible to being a carrier of gut-churning pathogens?

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