Overview
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the lettuce-linked outbreak over on Sept. 11 after reported infections tied to the product fell, with federal tracebacks pointing to shredded and iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from central Mexico.
- The multistate cluster tied to the lettuce accounted for roughly 12,800–12,900 laboratory-confirmed cases across about 21 states and was part of an unprecedented season that has reported about 19,595 total cyclosporiasis cases nationwide.
- The outbreak led to at least 1,000 hospitalizations nationwide and two deaths in Michigan, and prompted a large voluntary recall that removed affected packages from major retailers and restaurant chains.
- FDA teams have ended on-site inspections at the growers and the Doctor Mora processing facility in Mexico, which remains closed with limited staff, but samples collected during inspections are still pending laboratory analysis.
- Public-health experts and reporting have highlighted that long laboratory delays for Cyclospora testing and recent cuts to federal inspection and surveillance capacity complicated detection and response, and several other clusters remain under active investigation.