Taylor Farms to recall iceberg lettuce that may be the cause of the cyclospora outbreak

By Jaimy Lee

The California-based company is one of the largest producers of salad greens in the U.S.

Federal health officials are reportedly investigating whether Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce served at certain Taco Bell restaurants is the source of the current cyclospora outbreak.

Taylor Farms is recalling iceberg lettuce that was grown in central Mexico after reports that lettuce may be the cause of the multistate cyclospora outbreak.

Sources told several media outlets that iceberg lettuce from the privately held company - which is based in Salinas, Calif., a region known for growing salad greens - may be the source of the massive outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal illness caused by produce contaminated with the Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite. People with cyclosporiasis experience symptoms like watery diarrhea and abdominal cramping and need to be treated with antibiotics.

Health officials said Thursday that 1,644 cases of cyclosporiasis are linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

"While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the U.S.'s iceberg lettuce supply, as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely," Taylor Farms said in a statement.

Health officials previously said they identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from a farm in Mexico. Taylor Farms also said that no branded salads or kits are associated with the outbreak or contain iceberg lettuce.

Taylor Farms is a large company that sells its products directly to restaurants like Taco Bell, which is owned by Yum Brands (YUM), and McDonald's (MCD). Its produce and salad kits are also sold in grocery stores like Costco (COST) and Whole Foods, which is part of Amazon (AMZN). It reportedly employs 24,000 people at 22 facilities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe, generating $7 billion in annual revenue, according to Farm Progress. It was founded in the mid-1990s by Bruce Taylor, a third-generation lettuce grower.

Taylor Farms produce has been linked to outbreaks in the past, including an E. coli outbreak in 2024 stemming from onions grown on one of its farms and served at McDonald's, and a cyclospora outbreak in 2013 traced to a Taylor Farms salad mix.

The cyclospora parasite can spread on farms via human fecal matter. It can move to produce if someone wears the same shoes in the field as they do in the bathroom or doesn't wash their hands well, or if packing and harvesting equipment isn't cleaned properly, according to food-safety experts. That's why farms emphasize safety rules for workers like wearing shoe covers and adhering to strict handwashing requirements.

"Produce safety is something that our growers take very seriously," Kalmia Kniel, a professor of microbial food safety at the University of Delaware, said in an interview earlier this week about the farms that supply the U.S. market. "It's really critical, though, that worker health and hygiene is considered, because this does come from humans. So we have to think about training of employees. We have to think about where our employees are coming from."

Cyclospora is endemic in several parts of the world, including Mexico and Guatemala. Outbreaks in the U.S. are seasonal, usually occurring in the spring and summer before petering out in August. There are usually only a few hundred cases per year in the U.S. This year, however, about 7,000 people have confirmed or suspected cases of cyclosporiasis.

Taco Bell has already reportedly pulled several items from its menu, including lettuce, cilantro and onions. On Thursday, the company said it had removed lettuce from one supplier in select states.

The Food and Drug Administration noted that additional states may be added to its advisory and that not all Taco Bell locations had received the contaminated lettuce. Health officials also say that there may be other unrelated cyclospora outbreaks going on right now, as well.

-Jaimy Lee

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07-17-26 1541ET