Taco Bell Responds After Lettuce Is Linked to Cyclospora Outbreak

Amid an outbreak of the diarrhea-inducing cyclosporiasis infection, Taco Bell encouraged customers to return to their stores, noting the Taylor Farms lettuce linked to the outbreak has been removed.

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Taco Bell is encouraging its customers to live más.

Amid an ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a stomach bug that causes weeks of severe diarrhea, the restaurant announced it has removed lettuce provided by Taylor Farms from their stores after health officials linked the produce company’s product from Mexico to the infection.

“We take your health and safety seriously,” Taco Bell shared in a statement to X July 17, “and have removed all affected Taylor farms lettuce from Taco Bell stores.”

The company also encouraged its customers to return to its restaurants, adding, “So go ahead and enjoy your Taco Bell today. You always got us. We always got you. See you in the drive-thru.”

The day before, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned the public to “avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations” in Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.

Since then, Taylor Farms announced it has initiated a voluntary recall of “all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.”

“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the U.S.'s iceberg lettuce supply,” the company shared in a statement to X, “as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely.”

Taylor Farms also emphasized the organization’s sympathy for everyone affected by the cyclosporiasis outbreak.

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“As a family owned and operated company,” the company added, “we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the many Americans whose trust in the safety of their fresh produce has been shaken. That trust is something we've worked for decades to earn, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to restore that confidence.”

While no deaths have been reported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed at least 1,644 cases of individuals affected by the outbreak and is investigating more than 5,100 others, according to NBC News.

Meanwhile, 102 affected people have been hospitalized in Michigan, the hardest-hit state, according to its Health Department, per NBC News.

The FDA and CDC are still investigating whether other products are contributing to the outbreak as well.

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