08/05/2026
Wanted to share a recent press release we sent out to help remind you that our lettuce is ALWAYS Safe! (see press release below)
PRESS RELEASE:
Great Lakes Growers, a 160,000 square foot, state of the art hydroponic greenhouse facility that grows delicious and nutritious leafy greens and herbs in Burton, Ohio, is making sure everyone knows that their greenhouse-grown lettuce is safe from any Cyclospora outbreak.
John Bonner, Owner and CEO of Great Lakes Growers, had a few things to say about the most recent outbreak coming from field-grown lettuce. “At the most basic level, lettuce grown in a greenhouse means we’re operating in an environment that frankly eliminates the factors that could produce a Cyclospora outbreak, field-grown lettuce simply can’t say that. We don’t have to worry about water runoff from another farm or excessive rainfall that can flood fields. We control and monitor every environmental factor when it comes to growing lettuce, from the growing medium and how our plants receive nutrition, to the air temperature and the amount of sunlight they get.”
Bonner continued, “Making sure that our produce is always safe to eat is our #1 priority as company. We have state-of-the-art water filtration and monitoring systems to make sure that the water we use is clean of harmful bacteria. Although we have automated a lot of our growing process, there are still areas where the plants are handled by our employees. So, our employees go through rigorous training to ensure that any human contact within the growing process is done with food safety in mind. Finally, we are also routinely audited by a 3rd-party to ensure our food safety standards exceed all industry standards.”
Bonner summed up this latest outbreak with a simple statement. “The fact is when an outbreak like this occurs, we rarely even get a call from customers, whether it’s a distributor, grocery store or a chain of restaurants, because they know our lettuce isn’t the problem. We’ve spent years earning that trust and it’s something we do not take for granted.”
To learn more about Great Lakes Growers, please visit www.GreatLakesGrowers.com
For questions or additional information about Great Lakes Growers, please contact John Bonner by emailing him at [email protected]
