It’s Cyclospora season. Cyclospora cayatenensis is a waterborne parasite that can cause intestinal illness year-round, but we typically see outbreaks of Cyclospora during its peak season in spring and summer. Western Growers’ very own Afreen Malik, Science Programs Director, talked about the growing concern of Cyclospora, and things you should know as we face peak season, in a recent article featured in The Packer.

Cyclospora is an emerging threat to fresh produce in the U.S. and the industry still has a steep hill to climb in understanding and controlling this emerging threat. Detection of Cyclospora in food and water is challenging as it is not culturable and morphologically similar to non-pathogens, but the good news is that produce-specific help is on the way. The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) has made tremendous progress in funding scientific research, discovering solutions, and driving transformative change in produce safety. The work of CPS is transparent and accessible through the CPS website. Its most recent findings will be shared at CPS’ Annual Research Symposium June 20-21 in Atlanta.

It’s a priority for Western Growers to ensure that limited industry funding for produce safety research goes where it’s needed most, which is why we contribute to CPS at the highest financial level.

To read Afreen’s Packer article in full, click here.

WGA cares about food safety in our industry and food safety at home. If you have any concerns about food safety compliance or your organization’s food safety plan, please contact Sonia Salas at [email protected].