Iceberg lettuce sold at Taco Bell linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak

Iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms has been linked to an escalating multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis that may have sickened nearly 7,000 people, according to CNN and health officials, though authorities say a definitive source has not been confirmed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 1,645 confirmed cases, with more than 5,100 still under investigation. No deaths have been reported. The Food and Drug Administration is examining shredded iceberg lettuce that Taylor Farms supplied to Taco Bell as a possible source, according to a person familiar with the investigation cited by NBC News.

The CDC this week identified a likely connection between cases in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, suggesting many of the illnesses may share a common source. Michigan has been hit hardest, with 4,312 cases as of Thursday and 102 hospitalizations, according to the state health department. Michigan officials had previously flagged lettuce and salad greens as a likely source based on more than 1,000 interviews with people who tested positive.

Cyclosporiasis is caused by a parasite and can cause weeks of severe watery diarrhea. The incubation period can take up to two weeks, which has complicated efforts to trace the source.

A Taco Bell spokesperson said the company had voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at some restaurants as a precaution, adding that public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer. Taylor Farms and Yum Brands, Taco Bell’s parent company, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to NBC News and Reuters.

Taylor Farms was previously linked to a 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak that sickened 631 people in 25 states and to a 2024 E. coli outbreak tied to onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers that sickened 104 people in 14 states, health officials concluded.

Experts said the Midwest outbreak is unlikely to account for all cases nationwide and that multiple outbreaks from different sources could be underway.

This is a developing story.