Is Farmers’ Market Produce Safer During the Cyclospora Outbreak?

As Cyclospora cases continue to mount across the U.S., shoppers from Kentucky to Michigan are flocking to local farmers’ markets in search of safer produce. But are farmers’ markets actually less risky than grocery stores when it comes to avoiding cyclosporiasis and other foodborne illnesses?Some food-safety experts say farmers’ markets could be a safer bet, though that depends on where the produce actually comes from and the practices of the individual farmer. “If you are getting produce directly from the farmer who grew it, I would consider that lower risk,” says Kalmia Kniel, a professor of microbial food safety at the University of Delaware.Other experts say produce from supermarkets isn't inherently more dangerous, and that consumers can take steps—both at the grocery store and the farmers’ market—to protect themselves from foodborne bugs.Darin Detwiler, an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions, says he personally favors farmers’ markets because locally grown produce typically travels a shorter distance, passes through fewer processing and distribution steps, and can offer more transpare...