Taylor Fresh Foods announced Friday that it was voluntarily recalling all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico from the U.S. market.
The recall comes amid an increasingly serious outbreak of cyclosporiasis – a stomach infection that causes weeks of severe diarrhea – that federal health officials have linked to lettuce at certain Taco Bell restaurants.
Taylor Fresh Foods indicated in a statement that the measure was taken following information provided by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“While FDA tracing points to a specific independent farm – representing less than 1% of the US iceberg lettuce supply – as a possible source of the outbreak, we have removed all the iceberg lettuce in the region indefinitely,” the statement said. “No other Taylor Fresh Foods products nationwide are affected.”
This Friday morning, the FDA warned in a statement: “Do not consume shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.”
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It is unclear whether Taylor Farms products could be linked to cases in other states where outbreaks have been reported. Health officials have noted that there are likely multiple ongoing outbreaks in at least 34 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated in an emailed statement Friday morning that chopped lettuce sold in supermarkets or served in other restaurants is not affected.
At the national level, nearly 7,000 people could have contracted the infection stomach that causes weeks of severe diarrhea. Until this Friday, the CDC had confirmed 1,644 of those cases and were investigating more than 5,100. No deaths have been reported.
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In an emailed statement Thursday, Taco Bell said it had voluntarily removed lettuce suspected of being linked to the outbreak from its nationwide supply chain “indefinitely” and will replace it in certain states the next day.
The company did not mention Taylor Farms in its statement, but said it believes “public health is a shared responsibility between restaurants, their suppliers and law enforcement, and we are proud to have always acted quickly and proactively to protect our customers,” the statement said. “We encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers and foodservice operators to do the same.”
Michigan has been the state hardest hit by the outbreakwith 5,002 cases until this Friday. (The CDC count typically lags state counts.) The state Department of Health reported that 102 people in Michigan have had to be hospitalized.
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Michigan health officials had previously pointed to lettuce and salad greens as a possible source, based on more than 1,000 interviews with people who tested positive. Since then, the health department has conducted 2,025 such interviews.
Not everyone who has gotten sick in Michigan said they ate at a Taco Bell.
“Many did not report eating lettuce at a chain restaurant or other food establishment. However, lettuce continued to appear frequently on dietary questionnaires, even among those who had not been exposed to restaurants or fast food,” the Michigan Department of Health said in a statement Friday.
It has been difficult to get to the origin of the outbreaksince the incubation period of the parasite until the person becomes ill can be up to two weeks.
This is not the first time Taylor Farms has been linked to a cyclosporiasis outbreak. In 2013, 631 people in 25 states were sickened by a lettuce mix linked to the company, health officials concluded.
Many of the cases were reported in Iowa and Nebraska among people who had eaten at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Ultimately, it was determined that the outbreak originated from a lettuce mix from a Taylor Farms processing plant in Mexico.
Health officials also determined that Taylor Farms was the cause of an E. coli outbreak in 2024 related to the onion slices on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. According to the FDA, 104 people became ill in 14 states during that outbreak. Nearly three dozen were hospitalized; Four people, including at least one child, developed serious kidney problems. An elderly adult died in Colorado.
