Sweetgreen Highlights Safety Measures, Origin and Type of Lettuce After FDA Reports New Cyclospora Outbreak

By Josh Beckerman

Salad-chain Sweetgreen emphasized its safety measures the country of origin of its lettuce after the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday a new cyclospora outbreak.

Sweetgreen said on its X and Instagram social-media accounts that its menu doesn't use iceberg lettuce and all of its lettuce is from the U.S. The company said its romaine lettuce is washed once as a whole head and again after it is cut.

"From the outset of the investigation, we have been in close contact with our suppliers to determine whether any ingredients in our supply chain have been identified as part of the investigation," the company said. "To date, none have been," it added.

The new outbreak was linked to a not-yet-identified product. Shares of multiple restaurant companies declined after the FDA's statement.

Shares of Sweetgreen are about flat, at $6.05, midday Friday.

Government agencies have linked lettuce from Mexico, including products at locations of Yum Brands-unit Taco Bell, to thousands of reports of foodborne illness in the U.S. The FDA reported a false positive test for a sample of Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce, but said there was "overwhelming epidemiological data" supporting a Taylor Farms voluntary recall.

Shares of Yum Brands, Cava Group and Chipotle Mexican Grill moved lower Wednesday afternoon after the FDA's update. Yum Brands shares are about flat, at $147.75, midday Friday. Cava and Chipotle are down 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively.

Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2026 14:22 ET (18:22 GMT)