Is it safe to eat salad anymore? On Friday, Taylor Farms, the California-based salad giant, announced that it will “voluntarily” recall all iceberg lettuce it sources from central Mexico for the U.S. market.

“No other Taylor Fresh Foods products nationwide are affected,” the company said.

It’s unclear whether this means all the products contaminated in the multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak have been corralled, but public health experts say that’s unlikely. More than 8,260 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported to state and federal health departments, according to data compiled by Georgetown University’s Health Security Operations Center.

Most cases have been reported in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, North Carolina and Colorado, but that could simply be because those states have stronger public health surveillance than others.

The cyclospora parasite thrives in hot summer weather. Public health authorities say that in the worst case scenario, this outbreak could last until the end of August, but it’s a long, sweaty period to endure without leafy greens in your diet.

In these hot summer months, it’s creating a conundrum for salad lovers across the country: Do I risk contracting a watery diarrhea-inducing parasite, assuming all the parasites have already been eliminated, or do I play it safe and cook everything?

The answer really depends on what level of risk you are comfortable with, your own health and age, and where you live.

A three-tier system for deciding whether to eat lettuce

Dr. Tyler Evans, an infectious disease physician and author of “Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics,” said deciding whether or not to eat salad for dinner really depends on your risk tolerance, as well as where you live.

He lives in California, where cyclosporiasis is not widely reported, and said he just ate salad at a Mexican restaurant.

“I’m a very risk-tolerant infectious disease doctor,” Evans said.

If you are older, immunocompromised, pregnant, under 2 years old (with a developing immune system), or have a medical condition, you may want to play it a little safer until fall. Here’s a three-tiered system for thinking about how to approach your next meal:

Lower risk of infection

To ensure you don’t get cyclosporiasis, choose only vegetables cooked to at least 158 ​​degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature that kills this parasite. If you like berries, make jam. Craving vegetables? Try roasted asparagus.

If you’re in a high-risk category, “I would completely abstain from not just lettuce or iceberg lettuce, but probably all leafy greens for the foreseeable future,” Evans said.

Medium risk

Buy whole heads of lettuce, remove and discard the outer layer of leaves, and wash them well in cold water before eating. You can also buy locally grown lettuce at farmers markets. Keep an eye on local case numbers to inform your decisions.

“In states or areas where there is a higher incidence, I think using the peel it, boil it, cook it or forget it mantra is a good idea,” Evans said.

Throwing caution to the wind

Eating raw, unwashed leafy greens, especially pre-cut lettuce from bags and salad kits, which have been the most common source of cyclosporiasis outbreaks in recent years, can be risky.

Other vegetables that have been contaminated with the parasite in the past include raspberries, peas and snow peas, and fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley). It’s possible that none of these foods are involved in the current outbreak and that the risk is limited to leafy greens alone, but we don’t know for sure.

“Once temperatures start to drop, we should be safe again,” Evans said. “But the systems can work much better. There is some degree of acceptable risk in terms of seasonal outbreaks, but we can do better in terms of detecting and responding to these things.”