Overview
- Federal investigators have tied shredded iceberg lettuce served at select Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to a Cyclospora outbreak, and Taco Bell removed the supplier's lettuce after the finding.
- Taylor Farms said July 17 that it would voluntarily remove all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market after FDA testing pointed to a specific affiliated farm.
- The CDC has confirmed 1,644 cases in the outbreak with 94 hospitalizations, though state counts—most notably Michigan’s report of more than 5,000 cases—are much higher because of testing and reporting differences.
- Public-health officials say Cyclospora infections take days to appear, need special stool testing, and cannot be cultured for easy genetic links, factors that have slowed confirmation and complicated the investigation.
- Health agencies warn the probe remains active and could identify additional restaurants or retail distribution, and consumers are advised to avoid shredded iceberg lettuce from the affected Taco Bell locations and to seek care if they develop prolonged watery diarrhea.