Taylor Farms lettuce linked to major US cyclosporiasis outbreak affecting thousands

In late May, something began moving through Michigan. People started getting sick—thousands of them—with a parasitic infection called cyclosporiasis. By mid-July, when investigators finally traced the outbreak to its source, the scale of what had happened became clear: this was not a small, contained incident. This was the largest outbreak of its kind the country had seen in years, and it had spread across state lines.

The culprit, according to investigators who spoke to the Washington Post, was shredded iceberg lettuce. Specifically, lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, a California-based produce company, to Taco Bell restaurants operated by Yum Brands. The contamination likely occurred before the lettuce ever reached the restaurants—somewhere in the supply chain, the parasite had found its way into the food.

Michigan bore the brunt of it. By Thursday of that week in July, the state had recorded 4,312 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis. But Michigan was not alone. Ohio and New York reported significant numbers of infections as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified a pattern: cases in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky appeared to be connected, suggesting they all stemmed from the same contaminated source. The geographic spread—five states, thousands of people—was what alarmed health officials most. Previous cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the United States had been smaller, more localized. This one was different.

Cyclosporiasis is a parasitic intestinal infection contracted by consuming raw fruits, vegetables, or water contaminated with feces. The symptoms are unpleasant and persistent: diarrhea, nausea, and a range of gastrointestinal distress that can last for weeks. It is not typically fatal, but it is debilitating. Thousands of people across multiple states were now experiencing it.

Taco Bell had moved quickly once the danger became apparent. Earlier in the week, the chain had removed a limited number of ingredients from some of its restaurants as a precautionary measure. But the company was careful in its public statements. U.S. health authorities, Taco Bell said, had not officially linked the outbreak to the chain, to any specific food item, or to a supplier. This was technically true—the identification of Taylor Farms lettuce as the likely source came from investigators speaking to reporters, not from an official government announcement. Neither Yum Brands nor Taylor Farms responded to requests for comment.

The FDA, meanwhile, was preparing its own guidance. According to reporting from Bloomberg News, the agency was expected to soon advise consumers to avoid shredded lettuce at Taco Bell locations in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The recommendation would be specific and stark: do not eat this product in these places. It was a public health measure born of necessity, a way to stop the outbreak from spreading further while investigators continued their work.

What remained unclear was exactly how the lettuce had become contaminated. Whether it happened during harvesting, processing, or transport was not yet determined. What was clear was that thousands of people had already gotten sick, and the outbreak had exposed a vulnerability in the food supply chain that no one had fully anticipated. The investigation would continue, but for now, the advice was simple: if you lived in one of the affected states and wanted Taco Bell, you would need to order something else.