Taylor Farms is removing iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, citing unnamed sources, after multiple reports have linked Taylor Farms lettuce to a multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak, the company said in a social media post.
In a statement posted Friday, Taylor Farms said, “Based on information provided yesterday by the FDA, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily recalling all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.”
The statement said no Taylor Farms branded salads or kits are linked to this outbreak. USA TODAY has contacted Taylor Farms, HHS, FDA and CDC for comment.
After thousands of people across the country became sick with cyclosporiasis, federal health officials said lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants has been linked to an outbreak of the stomach-causing parasitic infection.
An investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and state health officials linked shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to the outbreak.
The agencies said late Thursday, July 16, that the FDA’s traceback investigation had identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by these Taco Bell locations.
Taylor Farms lists ‘no active product recalls’
As of Friday, Taylor Farms’ website says, “There are no active product recalls for any Taylor Farms product,” but it was last updated July 14.
The site continues, “At Taylor Farms, the health and safety of our consumers is always our top priority.” “We are committed to delivering fresh, nutritious products that meet the highest quality standards. In the rare event a product does not meet these standards, we take immediate action to remove affected items from distribution and notify our customers.”
USA TODAY has contacted Taylor Farms.
What are food safety experts saying?
Before it was confirmed by USA TODAY, many food safety experts suspected that Taylor Farms was involved in the outbreak, as the produce company supplies Taco Bell. These experts were present at the Food Security LATAM Summit 2026 held in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico from 15 to 16 July.
Food safety attorney Bill Marler told USA TODAY, “Of course, the topic of conversation when someone was going to leak was whether it was Taylor Farms, and then the question is whether the lettuce came from Mexico or Salinas.”
“Basically everyone here was like, it’s Taylor Farms because they’re bigger and they supply Taco Bell. I was actually waiting for someone in public health to say,” said Marler, who filed the lawsuit July 16 in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of a man who said he became infected with Cyclospora after eating at Taco Bell in North Olmsted, Ohio, on June 14 and June 21. Was.
The gastrointestinal illness, which can cause frequent, watery diarrhea or explosive bowel movements, nausea, cramps, bloating and low-grade fever, has sickened people in 34 states.
Contribution: Reuters; Eve Chen, USA Today