Investigators Identify Taylor Farms as Likely Source Behind Cyclospora Outbreak

Federal investigators have identified Taylor Farms, one of the country's largest lettuce suppliers, as the likely source of a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, according to officials familiar with the investigation.

The CDC and FDA said Thursday that a multistate outbreak has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, confirming reporting first published by The Washington Post. Two federal officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly, told the Post that when investigators asked Taco Bell where its lettuce came from, the answer was Taylor Farms, not just for Michigan locations but for restaurants across all four affected states. Neither the CDC nor the FDA has officially named Taylor Farms in a public statement, and the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Why Taylor Farms Became the Focus

Investigators zeroed in on the supplier after noticing a pattern in the outbreak data. "The signal we have gotten is that there is a very high percentage of people who got sick at Taco Bell, and when investigators asked what their menu items were in common, lettuce came up frequently," one official told the Post. Michigan health officials, who have logged the most cases of any state, separately identified leafy lettuce as their leading suspect based on interviews with more than 1,000 confirmed patients.

Taylor Farms, headquartered in Salinas, California, describes itself as one of the world's leading producers of salads and fresh foods, with production facilities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Western Europe. The company supplies chopped salad kits and fresh produce to major retailers including Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and Amazon, along with numerous restaurant chains, though investigators have not indicated that retail products sold on store shelves are connected to this outbreak.

A Company With a Prior Track Record

This isn't Taylor Farms' first connection to a foodborne illness investigation. The company was linked to a cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to salad mix that sickened hundreds of people in 2013. More recently, health officials considered Taylor Farms the likely source of a 2024 E. coli outbreak linked to onions served at McDonald's, which caused 104 illnesses, 34 hospitalizations and one death.

Taco Bell has said it "voluntarily removed potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states" out of caution, though the chain has continued to say that public health officials have not confirmed a specific link to any particular supplier or ingredient.

The Scope of the Outbreak

The outbreak has grown into one of the largest cyclosporiasis events in recent U.S. history. More than 4,300 cases have been reported in southeastern Michigan alone, with at least 100 hospitalizations there as of this week, and cases have surfaced in at least 34 states nationwide. Officials expect the case count to continue climbing through the end of August.

The CDC said this week it has identified a likely epidemiological link connecting cases across Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky specifically, marking the agency's clearest public acknowledgment yet that a significant share of the illnesses are connected to a common source.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, explained why the parasite is so difficult to trace. "The parasite has to sit in the environment for more than a week, sometimes two weeks under high temperatures to become infectious and make these spores," he said. Because symptoms can take one to two weeks to appear after exposure, patients often struggle to recall which meals may have caused their illness, complicating investigators' efforts to pin down the source.

What to Know if You've Eaten at an Affected Location

The FDA is urging people to avoid shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in the five affected states while the investigation continues. Symptoms of cyclosporiasis include watery, sometimes explosive diarrhea, along with fatigue, nausea, cramping and loss of appetite, and can persist for weeks without antibiotic treatment. Anyone experiencing persistent symptoms after eating at an affected location is advised to contact a healthcare provider, since a stool test is required to confirm diagnosis.

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