As cyclosporiasis cases continue to pop up nationwide, the CDC has advised consumers to ask restaurants where they source their lettuce before eating it. On Sunday night, John Oliver simply scoffed at that idea.
To kick off the latest episode of “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver zeroed in on the cyclospora outbreak, which is giving consumers explosive diarrhea. The HBO host noted that cases are on the rise, and played a news clip explaining exactly that, before noting that the recommendation right now is to ask for the origin of your lettuce before you eat it.
“Yeah, the best advice they have for you right now is to basically play lettuce detective at every restaurant,” Oliver said, stifling a laugh. “And what are you really expecting them to say? ‘Aw s–t, we actually get it from Sam’s Parasite Barn. We were hoping no one would ask!’”
“Because let’s be honest, your server doesn’t know where the restaurant sources their lettuce!” he continued. “Their main is concern is that the bartender they f–ked last week stopped working Mondays, and their manager won’t release next month’s schedule unless everyone goes to a poetry night. So why not give them all a break and just order soup!”
At least part of the outbreak was traced to Taco Bell, which resulted in a massive drop in traffic to the food chain. In response, they pulled the affected lettuce, and offered a statement online, reassuring people that it was safe to return.
While Oliver scoffed at the “notes app non-apology,” he did give Taco Bell credit for at least proactively addressing the issue, saying it’s more than the Trump administration has done. The headline that most drew Oliver’s eye came from Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr.
“Just a day after he claimed the cyclospora outbreak was under control, the FDA announced it was investigating a new outbreak, with cases only growing since!” he said. “And look, clearly, none of this is ideal, and it does say something pretty grim about America that, when it comes to acting swiftly to prevent a public health threat, the current government just lost the moral high ground to f–king Taco Bell!”
“Last Week Tonight” airs Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on HBO.
