Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Traced to Taylor Farms Iceberg Lettuce Distributed to Taco Bell Locations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified an outbreak of cyclosporiasis tied to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms to Taco Bell, sources familiar with the investigation said.

The CDC reported that the shredded lettuce was distributed to Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. In a notice released Thursday evening, the agency urged consumers not to consume shredded iceberg lettuce at any Taco Bell outlet in those states.

Officials noted that it is still uncertain whether Taylor Farms shipped the lettuce to additional vendors. The CDC has not explicitly named Taylor Farms in its public inquiry.

A Taylor Farms spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

According to CDC data, more than 1,644 individuals who dined at Taco Bell fell ill with the parasite, and 94 required hospitalization.

Food and Drug Administration officials noted that the lettuce originated from a single Mexican supplier. The agency announced intensified border screening for that company’s lettuce in a Thursday night update.

The FDA indicated that other restaurants and retailers could become involved as the investigation progresses. Not every Taco Bell outlet in those five states received the contaminated lettuce.

In a Thursday night statement, Taco Bell announced that it was voluntarily discontinuing lettuce sourced from a specific supplier in selected states. While the supplier was not named, the company said the implicated lettuce would be permanently withdrawn from its nationwide supply chain and swiftly replaced.

The United States is projected to record the highest number of cyclosporiasis cases in 2026 on record, with 1,645 confirmed infections and 141 hospitalizations across 34 states as of Monday, the CDC reported. The agency is also examining over 5,100 additional illnesses that may be linked to the parasite, which spreads via food or water contaminated with fecal matter.

Health officials are simultaneously probing additional cyclosporiasis clusters in other states that are not connected to the Taco Bell-related outbreak, the CDC noted in its Thursday night notice.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, explained in a Tuesday interview that not all affected patients in the state had patronized a single restaurant. She noted that a supplier distributing to restaurants may also supply grocery stores.

Many of the reported cases involved individuals who had not eaten at Taco Bell.

Additional states experiencing elevated cyclosporiasis incidence this year include North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland and Texas.

With roughly $7 billion in annual revenue, Taylor Farms, headquartered in Salinas, California, ranks among the nation’s largest producers of fresh lettuce and vegetables. Its chopped salad kits are sold at Walmart, Whole Foods, Target and other retailers, and the company supplies lettuce and other produce to numerous major restaurant chains.

Taylor Farms has previously been associated with food‑borne outbreaks, including a cyclosporiasis episode linked to a salad mix that affected hundreds in 2013. Health officials also implicated the company as the probable source of a 2024 E. coli outbreak tied to onions served at McDonald’s, which caused 104 illnesses, 34 hospitalizations and one fatality.

The Washington Post was the first outlet to report the link between Taylor Farms and the outbreak.

After infection, symptoms may appear days to weeks later. The primary manifestation is frequent, watery diarrhea, accompanied by loss of appetite, cramping, bloating, gas, nausea, fatigue and weight loss. Although complications are uncommon, the illness can persist for a month or longer if left untreated. Antibiotics constitute the primary therapy.

Identifying the source of cyclosporiasis cases is a labor‑intensive endeavor. Investigators must question thousands of infected individuals about their food and beverage consumption over weeks, then trace ingredients and suppliers. Parasitic infections are generally more difficult to associate with a common source than bacterial infections due to their biological characteristics.

The outbreak emerges at a time when state and local health departments — dependent on CDC funding to address food‑borne illness outbreaks — are confronting budget reductions and staff layoffs.

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