We learned last week that Taco Bell was being investigated as a possible source for the cyclosporiasis outbreaks — the illness caused by the cyclospora parasite that leads to severe, er, tummy trouble. The move was made after several Michiganders reported falling ill upon eating there. Many of you rightly noted in the comments that Taco Bell itself wasn’t the source, but could lead investigators to the produce supplier that is the source. Which is exactly what the FDA did over the weekend. And the culprit is: shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, the world’s largest producer of salad. Contaminated shipments were sent from Taylor Farms operations in Mexico to Taco Bells in five states (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia) and those shipments are responsible for the 1,644 cyclosporiasis cases the CDC has confirmed so far. Recalls are underway from Taylor Farms, Taco Bell, and Walmart, who sells their Marketside-brand salad products.
On Friday, Taylor Farms said that it was pulling all of its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico “indefinitely.”
On Saturday, the company expanded its recall list to include four Marketside-brand products sold at Walmart, America’s largest food and grocery retailer. In response, Walmart said it has removed four Marketside salad products from its shelves.
“Although there is no indication that products sold in our stores are affected by the current Cyclopsora investigations, we have removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products from select locations as a precaution after receiving notice from our supplier,” Walmart said in a statement.
Walmart said it did so out of an abundance of caution. The products were sold in nearly 30 states. “There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with these products at this time,” the company said.
An investigation by health officials, meanwhile, is ongoing, meaning other potential sources of the outbreak could yet be identified.
The true number of people who’ve been sickened this summer is likely much higher. Cyclospora infections have spread across 34 states since May 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of July 13, the agency had confirmed 1,645 cases and 141 hospitalizations, with no confirmed deaths.
Hard-hit Michigan has reported more than 4,300 cyclosporiasis cases in that state alone. Michigan health authorities said on Monday that their investigation was also pointing to “lettuce or salad greens” as a potential source of contamination.Taylor Farms is the world’s largest producer of salad, supplying chain restaurants like Chipotle and McDonald’s, and big grocery stores, including Costco, Walmart, and Trader Joe’s. The company says it operates 30 processing facilities across North America.
On Thursday night, Taco Bell said that “based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution,” it would “voluntarily remove” possibly impacted lettuce.
“The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states,” the company said.
Taylor Farms said Friday that the salad kits and other produce it sells were unaffected by the contamination of iceberg lettuce.
Health experts have recommended avoiding bagged lettuce and salads until the outbreak is over, advising consumers to choose whole heads of lettuce and remove the outer layer of leaves, and wash all produce thoroughly. There is no surefire way to wash cyclospora off produce, so the safest move is to cook foods to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cyclospora thrives in summer heat. Gwen Biggerstaff, the CDC’s deputy director of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases, said Tuesday that “we anticipate continuing to see cases increase possibly through the end of August, which is the end of the cyclosporiasis season.”
Like they say, there’s nothing like roasted salad in the summertime! And while I understand Taylor Farms (desperately) wanting to highlight their unaffected foods, it’s important to note that the shredded iceberg lettuce that tested positive for cyclospora for the FDA is not included in Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall. Don’t ask me to make that make sense, for I cannot. To borrow the companies’ oft-repeated refrain: “out of an abundance of caution,” I would avoid all Taylor Farms/Marketside bagged lettuce. No salad is worth explosive, watery diarrhea. Oh, and if you’re like me and scratching your head over how Michigan could have 4,300 cyclosporiasis cases while the CDC has only confirmed 1,644, well, it’s a funny story (and by “funny” I mean infuriating). Last year Elon Musk and his DOGE boys slashed the CDC’s cyclospora team from 11 people to THREE. I guess it’s just wishful thinking on the CDC’s part that their deputy director of foodborne illnesses is named Gwen Biggerstaff.
Note by Celebitchy: According to a statement on Taylor Farms’ Instagram, the FDA has apologized to them for an alleged false positive test and “the FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.” This recall is supposedly voluntary. I know the FDA is incompetent but I’m not going to take Taylor Farms at their word. I eat Little Leaf Farms lettuce. They are not affected by the recall. They have posted a series of videos from their CEO explaining how they purify their water using light.
photos via Taylor Farms’ Instagram