The parasite was traced to Taco Bell. But Subway — which no investigator has linked to the outbreak — lost nearly a fifth of its customers in a single day. When a cyclospora scare tied to shredded iceberg lettuce swept five states this summer, sickening more than 1,600 people, the fear refused to stay put.
Foot traffic at Taco Bell fell about 19 percent once federal officials named it, according to data from Placer.ai. But salad-heavy chains that were never implicated took hits too: Subway dropped 19.2 percent in one day, and the salad chain Chopt fell 14.3 percent.
The companies that were actually involved moved fast — Taco Bell pulled the lettuce within days, and its supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, recalled every head of iceberg from the farm in question. The uninvolved chains had a different job: getting ahead of the rumor. Chipotle publicly stated it did not believe its ingredients were connected to the outbreak.
Analysts expect the lost traffic to return within a quarter or two — for chains that were never part of the outbreak at all.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
