List of fruits and vegetables that are safe from cyclospora parasite

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As health officials investigate a surge in cyclosporiasis cases across the United States, many consumers are wondering whether any fruits or vegetables can be considered truly safe from the parasite behind the illness.

-snip-

The question comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigates hundreds of confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in at least 31 states. Symptoms often include watery diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, stomach cramps and, in some cases, frequent “explosive” bowel movements that can last for weeks if left untreated. Previous U.S. outbreaks have been linked to fresh produce, including bagged salads, cilantro, basil, raspberries and other fruits and vegetables. Federal officials have not yet identified a specific food source responsible for the current increase in cases.

-snip-

There are no raw fruits and vegetables that are completely safe from cyclospora, Texas State University professor Rodney Rohde told Newsweek, but there are “lowest-risk choices.”

These options are “generally fruits with thick, inedible peels,” Rohde said, since the edible part is naturally protected. Fruits include:

Bananas
Citrus
Avocados
Pineapples
Watermelons
Mangoes

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/list-of-fruits-and-vegetables-that-are-safe-from-cyclospora-parasite/ar-AA27Psgz

[canetoad]

1. And scrub your hands

After handling the peel.

[Ms. Toad]

2. On the other hand - growing your own, or participating in a CSA is a good option to avoid commercial nasties.

Our tomatoes are just starting to ripen. I've got basil, cilantro, thyme, parsley, sage, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, blueberries, peppers, and ground cherries on my deck. My lettuce, summer squash, and garlic come from my CSA.

I'm pretty much set to eat well with minimal risk.

[fujiyamasan]

3. What is a CSA? Is that like a co-op?

[hatrack]

4. More or less - "Community Supported Agriculture" - supplied by local growers.

You can buy a seasonal subscription or just hit participating growers for whatever they have from one week to the next.

[Ms. Toad]

7. Sort of.

I pay $650 sometime in the early spring for a 20 week share (so $32.50/week). They use the money to plant crops for the CSA (community supported agriculture) members and also for local food banks. When the growing season is good, I get a lot for my money. When bugs or critters are bad, sometimes the share is a little weak. But it spreads the farming risk across the members of the CSA, rather than forcing the farmers to take all the risk. The one I belong to is organic.

This week's share: 2 summer squashes, 1 fresh garlic, 1 kohlrabi, 1 bag of leafy greens, 2 green peppers, and pick your own sunflowers. That's about average for the 20 week season. Early the shares are heavy on leafy greens. Later they are heavy on tomatoes, winter squash, root vegetables.

Each year they donate thousands of pounds of produce to local food banks. They also offer community garden plots at $40-$75 per plot so you can grow your own produce, and a farmer's training program to help get the next generation of farmers going using responsible farming practices.

I've also done a local buyer's club - which buys within 50 miles of the org center. Those tend to be more commercial - so more uniform crops - and more likely to be contaminated with whatever creepy critters are infecting the commercial ventures. But still better than going to the grocery store, since they are all local crops.

[fujiyamasan]

8. Thanks! I'll look into them in my area

[Igel]

13. I trusted what came out of my back yard.

And side and front when the HOA wasn't too active.

Even a CSA implies I know every other member's level of actual, not just claimed or apparent, cleanliness. Something spatters onto your clothing on the floor in the lou, you wipe your hands on your pants (etc.) when picking the poblanos or bok choy or whatever, there you go. And good luck tracing that. (Heck, even stuff from my back yard ... birds, bugs, and general air-borne 'stuff' here north of Houston.)

[Ms. Toad]

14. The CSA farmers are not the same as the members.

So you have a fundamental misunderstanding about the number of people involved in handling the food before it reaches me. The farmers are a small group of people (six, this year) who are hired by the sponsoring entity to do the farming.

And I didn't say it would avoid all risk - I said avoid the commercial nasties. The process of producing food on a commercial scale is much more likely to both inject something harmful - and to spread it widely. Poorly paid workers who have no personal connection to the people who will be consuming the food they are producing - and who lose money or their jobs if they don't meet their quota because they take time to leave the field to run to the port-a-potty may squat in the field. If they were infected, and that poop makes it onto food they harvest the food is now infected. (Prior outbreaks have been traced to this pathway)

And even if the contamination came from a non-human source, rather than being washed individually by running water or in a small tub with a handful of other items (the CSA practice), that contaminated item is washed in water shared by thousands (or more) items. Then, in the case of the most frequently contaminated products (bagged salads) the items are chopped (potentially contaminating the chopping machines - which in turn contaminate other items) and are commingled with other items. So even if a head of lettuce escaped earlier contamination, it is now in a bag with lettuce which did get contaminated.

The only way to avoid risk is to stop eating. But I can lower my risk considerably by obtaining my produce from my own garden, or as intact items (all except the bags of leafy greens), produced in small batches by small farmers whose names and faces I know (and who know mine) - and who chose to do this work because they care about the quality of the food.

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Hundreds of cases will likely soon be thousands

Dems would be fools not to hammer Bobby Brainworms and Elon for causing this public health disaster.

Somebody thought it would be a great idea to stop tracking cyclospora and several other food borne pathogens…and Americans should be made aware this was no accident.

[progressoid]

6. This. N / T

[BigmanPigman]

9. I've been puking and bad diarrhea since July 3, my birthday.

Sometimes the only thing I can keep down is an ice pop, but even that comes up right away sometimes and I have no idea why. I do not eat out, ever (can't afford it and I don't know what they put in my food) and I make all of my own food and I buy all of my own food. No fats, no sugars, nothing since I have digestive issues. Why all of a sudden is this happening? I do research all the time and when I was trying to figure out what the hell was doing this to me I found only a few sources and compared to what I normally as food prep it did not seem to be cyclosporiasis related.

Now I'm not so sure. I can't afford my ACA co-pays so I try my best to do as much as I can before I am forced to spend $40 for any dr's visit.

[ChicagoTeamster]

10. The monitoring program was cancelled by DOGE. More MAHA from the MAGA @$$h0!#$

JUst another thing to throw in the faces of the hateful losers. I hope they can't afford gas and groceries and their SNAP was cut and if they've been lying about who they lived with while collecting SNAP and potentially Medicaid they can talk to the fraud car JD Vance.

[SergeStorms]

11. All must be pealed to be eaten.

I'll be careful as I can be, but I'm not going to let fear rule my life. Anything can kill you in the right situation and conditions.

[niyad]

12. I watched a video earlier tonight about that. It was a f## station in

Florida. I was surprised. The guy from f## asked intelligent questions, sounded reasonably normal. The doctor laid everything out, all the risks, and possible treatments. After listing precautions, etc., he said that cooking one's produce right now is helpful.