How the Outbreak Started
Earlier this month, federal officials announced that a five-state outbreak of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal infection, has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Fresh Foods and used in Taco Bell menu items.
The fast-food chain has since removed the affected lettuce from its local restaurants and national supply chain, and Taylor Farms has issued a nationwide recall of iceberg lettuce sourced from Mexico. Sysco, the nation’s largest food distributor, withdrew all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico at the supplier’s request.
On July 24, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the number of states with illnesses linked to the recalled Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce to include Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. These states join the five other states — Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia — that have reported illnesses linked to the iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.
Though the FDA has said a lettuce sample provided by Taylor Farms recorded a “false positive” for cyclospora, the company’s recall remains in place.
Several versions of its bagged shredded iceberg product distributed between June 29 through July 16 in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin are on the recall list, according to the FDA.