Federal investigators have zeroed in on shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants as a possible source behind a rapidly growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic illness that has sickened thousands of people across the Midwest this year.
A Familiar Taco Bell Supplier name Resurfaces
The lettuce came from Taylor Farms, a major California based produce supplier, according to people familiar with the investigation. Neither Taylor Farms nor Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, has responded publicly to requests for comment, and federal and state health officials have not yet formally announced a cause behind the outbreak’s spread.
This is not the first time Taylor Farms has found itself connected to a foodborne illness investigation. Back in 2013, health officials traced a salad mix from one of the company’s processing plants in Mexico to an outbreak that sickened more than 600 people across two dozen states, with many cases linked to diners at Olive Garden and Red Lobster locations in Iowa and Nebraska. More recently, the supplier was tied to a 2024 E. coli outbreak involving onions used on McDonald’s burgers, which sickened more than 100 people, hospitalized dozens and was linked to one death.
The Numbers Behind This Year’s Outbreak
Nationwide, close to 7,000 people may have contracted cyclosporiasis this year, with over 1,600 cases confirmed and more than 5,000 still under review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported so far. Michigan has been hit hardest, reporting more than 4,300 cases and at least 102 hospitalizations as of this week. Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky have also reported significant clusters, and the CDC said it has found a likely connection among cases across those four states, suggesting a shared contamination source may be responsible for a meaningful share of the illnesses.
Health experts caution that the true scope of the outbreak may extend beyond what a single source can explain, since events like this sometimes stem from more than one point of contamination at once.
A Difficult Trail to Follow
Michigan health officials first pointed to lettuce and salad greens as likely culprits earlier this year, basing that conclusion on more than 1,000 interviews with people who tested positive for the illness. Pinpointing an exact source has proven difficult in part because cyclosporiasis can take up to two weeks to produce symptoms after exposure, making it hard for investigators to trace illnesses back to a specific meal or ingredient.
Taco Bell has already taken some precautionary steps. Taco Bell said earlier this week that it voluntarily removed a limited number of ingredients from some locations, while noting that public health officials have not confirmed a link between the outbreak and any specific restaurant, ingredient or supplier.
What Comes Next
With investigators still working to confirm the source and case counts continuing to rise, health officials are expected to provide further updates in the coming days. Anyone experiencing prolonged diarrhea, nausea or other gastrointestinal symptoms is encouraged to seek medical attention, particularly given how long the parasite can take to cause noticeable illness after exposure.
