The Food and Drug Administration is investigating iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms as a possible source in an escalating outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a stomach bug that causes weeks of severe diarrhea, in five states, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
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Nationwide, nearly 7,000 people may have been sickened, with 1,645 of those cases confirmed and more than 5,100 still under investigation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported.
Earlier this week, the CDC announced an investigation into more than 400 cases in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky. A source with knowledge of the federal health investigation said Thursday that Indiana appears to be part of that outbreak.
The possible outbreak source was first reported by the Washington Post.
It’s unclear whether produce from Taylor Farms could be linked to cases in other states with cases. Health officials have said it’s likely that multiple outbreaks are ongoing in at least 34 states.
In an emailed statement, Taco Bell said it has voluntarily removed lettuce suspected in the outbreak from its supply chain nationwide “indefinitely” and will replace it in selected states within the next day.
“While no official advisory has been issued, we believe public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests,” the statement read. “We encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same.”
Taylor Farms did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Michigan has been hit hardest in the outbreak, with 4,312 cases as of Thursday. (The CDC’s count often lag behind state counts.) The state’s health department said that 102 people in Michigan have had to be hospitalized.
Michigan health officials previously flagged lettuce and salad greens as a potential source based on more than 1,000 interviews with people who’ve tested positive.
Getting to the source of the outbreak has been difficult, as the incubation period for the parasite to make a person sick can be up to two weeks.
This isn’t the first time Taylor Farms has been connected to a cyclosporiasis outbreak. In 2013, 631 people in 25 states were sickened by a salad mix linked to the company, health officials concluded. Many of the illnesses occurred in Iowa and Nebraska among people who’d eaten at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. The outbreak was eventually traced to a salad mix from a Taylor Farms processing plant in Mexico.
Health officials also determined that Taylor Farms was also at the root of a 2024 E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers. According to the FDA, 104 people were sickened in 14 states in that outbreak. Nearly three dozen were hospitalized, four people, including at least one child, developed severe kidney problems. One person, an older adult from Colorado, died.