Taylor Farms will remove its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico after multiple reports citing anonymous sources linked Taylor Farms’ lettuce to cyclosporosis outbreaks in multiple states, the company said in a social media post.
“Based on information provided by the FDA yesterday, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico,” Taylor Farms said in a statement Friday.
Taylor Farms brand salads and kits are not linked to this outbreak, the statement added.
USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor Farms, HHS, FDA and CDC for comment.
Lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants has been linked to an outbreak of a stomach-wrenching parasitic infection, federal health officials say, as thousands of people across the country contract cysticercosis.
An investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and state health officials found that shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell stores in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia was linked to the outbreak.
The FDA’s follow-up investigation has identified a single supplier of the Mexican iceberg lettuce used in these Taco Bell locations, the agency announced late Thursday, July 16.
Taylor Farms lists “no active product recalls”
As of Friday, Taylor Farms’ website stated that “there are no active product recalls in place for Taylor Farms products,” but it was last updated on July 14.
“At Taylor Farms, the health and safety of our consumers is always our top priority,” the site added. “We are committed to delivering fresh, healthy products that meet the highest quality standards. In the unlikely event that a product does not meet these standards, we will take immediate action to remove the affected product from distribution and notify our customers.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor Farms.
Food safety expert opinion
Many food safety experts who attended the 2026 Food Safety Latin America Summit, held July 15-16 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, suspected Taylor Farms was involved in the outbreak.
“Of course, the story that came up was when someone was trying to leak that it was Taylor Farms, and the question was, is that lettuce from Mexico or Salinas,” food safety attorney Bill Mahler told USA TODAY.
“Basically, everyone here was like, ‘Taylor Farms is a big company and supplies Taco Bell.’ I was actually waiting for the public health experts to say that,” Marler said. Marler filed the lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio on July 16 on behalf of a man who claims he contracted Cyclospora after eating at a Taco Bell in North Olmsted, Ohio, on June 14 and June 21.
This gastrointestinal disease, which can cause frequent watery diarrhea or explosive bowel movements, nausea, cramping, bloating and low-grade fever, affects people in 34 states.
Contributor: Reuters; Eve Chen, USA TODAY
