US health authorities on 16 July linked shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five Midwestern states to a rapidly expanding outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic intestinal infection. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 1,644 laboratory-confirmed cases tied to those locations, with 94 hospitalisations and no deaths, while the broader national outbreak has generated nearly 7,000 suspected cases across 34 states since 1 May. Michigan alone has reported more than 5,000 cases, making this the largest cyclospora event recorded in the United States. Within hours, Taco Bell removed the affected lettuce from its entire domestic supply chain, and Taylor Farms, the California-based supplier, announced it was voluntarily withdrawing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the US market.

The traceback investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by the Taco Bell outlets where affected individuals had eaten. Taylor Farms stated that the FDA’s findings pointed to a specific independent farm accounting for less than 1 per cent of US iceberg lettuce supply, but the company removed all product from the region indefinitely as a precaution. Cyclospora cayetanensis, the causative parasite, is transmitted through food or water contaminated with faeces and causes watery diarrhoea—often explosive—along with fatigue, nausea and weight loss. Its one- to two-week incubation period complicates traceback, and the parasite is not spread directly between people. No other Taylor Farms products, including its branded salad kits, are implicated.

The supplier has been linked to previous food-safety incidents: a 2013 cyclospora outbreak traced to salad mix from its Mexican operations sickened more than 600 people, and in 2024 its slivered onions were identified as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders that hospitalised 34 and killed one. The current outbreak has already depressed foot traffic at Taco Bell and other salad-heavy chains, with visits down 5.8 per cent on 11 July, according to location-intelligence firm Placer.ai, while Sweetgreen shares lost nearly a quarter of their value over the past month. An Ohio man filed the first federal lawsuit against Taco Bell on 16 July, alleging he contracted the infection after eating at a Cleveland-area restaurant. Viewed from Mexico City, the health ministry issued a medium-risk travel advisory for the US, while the supplier’s Guanajuato facility is at the centre of the recall.

The FDA is working with Taylor Farms to determine whether the contaminated shredded lettuce reached other restaurants, retailers or institutional buyers, and the CDC is simultaneously investigating additional cyclosporiasis clusters that do not appear linked to Taco Bell. The parasite’s seasonal peak runs from May through August, and health officials continue to recommend cooking fresh produce to at least 70°C and avoiding pre-washed bagged lettuce in affected regions. The next factual milestone will be the FDA’s completion of its traceback assessment and any expansion of the public warning to other distribution channels.