OK: FARMERS PUSH LOCAL PRODUCE AMID CYCLOSPORIASIS
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EDMOND, Oklahoma (KOCO) — An outbreak of a parasite linked to fresh produce has made dozens of Oklahomans sick this summer.
While health officials say there is no foolproof way to avoid it, local farmers are doing what they can to keep produce safe. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control hasn’t pinpointed what is causing this year’s cyclosporiasis outbreak, so farmers said the best thing they can do is follow safe growing practices every single day.
“We’ll cut these, wash them in our sanitizer, and then bag them for our customers in a pre-washed salad mix,” Kevin Marshall with Indigo Farms said.
At Indigo Farms in Edmond, Marshall said protecting his produce starts before the seeds are even planted.
“So, here at Indigo, we have well water, and we have our well water tested for food safety. We also, when we wash our stuff, use an organic sanitizer,” Marshall said.
That focus on water isn’t by accident. Food safety experts say irrigation water is one of the biggest causes of this parasite.
“The only way you are going to have an issue is that sewage or fecal matter is getting into the water and that water is ending up on the produce,” said Ravi Jaseja, an OSU extension food safety specialist.
The small farm has seen a spike in customers interested in buying local.
“Our orders were up, so I’m suspecting a lot of people are trying to buy local because they’re a little bit scared of the national chain,” Marshall said.
While the source of the outbreak remains unknown, local farmers said one benefit of shopping close to home is knowing who grew your food and having the chance to ask questions about how it was produced.
They encouraged Oklahomans to visit their local farmers market or the OKC Food Hub, which connects shoppers with produce grown by Oklahoma farms.
“We have some different tomatoes and peppers here. We have bell peppers growing. You see? It’s green. Just starting to turn red, and there’s one that’s starting to ripen,” Jaseja said.
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