Lettuce prices fell a record 16.4% in July amid cyclospora outbreak

Commodity
โดย CNBC·US·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Lettuce prices fell a record 16.4% in July from June, the largest one-month decline on record for the category in the consumer price index, as a multistate cyclospora outbreak drove consumers away from the leafy green. Within the CPI's food category, no item fell harder month-over-month in July than lettuce, a month in which overall food prices rose just 0.1%. Even after July's plunge, lettuce prices are still up 7.5% compared with a year earlier, outpacing the 3.4% rise in the broader CPI over the same stretch. Federal health regulators identified a Taylor Farms processing facility in central Mexico as the likely source of the outbreak, tracing it to iceberg lettuce handled there, and the company subsequently issued a voluntary recall of products from that plant. NielsenIQ data cited by CNBC showed prepackaged salad dollar sales fell 14% in the four weeks through July 25, measured against the same stretch a year earlier. Chipotle said cyclospora created roughly a 2-percentage-point sales impact in the second half of July, while Yum Brands CEO Chris Turner said the outbreak resulted in a meaningful near-term sales impact, though sales had been improving. Sweetgreen cut its full-year outlook after cyclospora fears weighed on demand, projecting same-store sales to shrink 7% to 8% in 2026, steeper than its prior forecast for a 2% to 4% decline, and Cava reported that consumer anxiety about fresh produce weighed on sales near the end of its second quarter, though its CFO said same-restaurant sales had since rebounded to the mid single digits.

Impact on stocks 4

Consumer Discretionary▼ · 4 stocks
Sweetgreen Inc
SG
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

Sweetgreen cut its full-year outlook after cyclospora fears weighed on demand, projecting same-store sales to shrink 7-8%.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc
CMG
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

Chipotle said cyclospora created roughly a 2-percentage-point sales impact in the second half of July.

CAVA Group, Inc.
CAVA
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

Cava reported consumer anxiety about fresh produce weighed on sales near the end of Q2.

Yum! Brands Inc
YUM
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

Yum Brands CEO said the outbreak resulted in a meaningful near-term sales impact.

Off-coverage companies 1

Taylor FarmsPrivate▼ Negative
Regulationrelevance

Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall after being identified as the likely source of the cyclospora outbreak.

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