The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak in five states: The culprit is shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico, served in Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Furthermore, The Associated Press reported that, although federal communications have not identified the source supplier of the lettuce, an official told the news outlet it was Salinas, Calif.-based produce company Taylor Farms. If true, this is at least the fourth foodborne illness outbreak tied to the company in at least the past 15 years.

Cyclosporiasis cases have been reported in more than 30 states in recent weeks, but the CDC says so far only the cases in the five states mentioned above are connected. According to the Food & Drug Administration, illnesses tied to this outbreak began as early as May 13 and have been reported through at least July 13. Officials are investigating all the cases of illness across the country to determine if any others are connected or if there are any other sources.

Taco Bell has committed to switching suppliers of the iceberg lettuce and ensuring that all product from this supplier has been removed. Officials also pointed out that not every Taco Bell location in those five states received contaminated lettuce, but the restaurant chain has immediately removed any potentially impacted lettuce product from “a supplier” in select states. Federal health officials also stressed that other brands and companies could still be identified as the investigation continues.

No deaths have been reported thus far due to the disease, which can cause extreme gastrointestinal distress (which, of course, the mainstream media has jumped on, because symptoms include “explosive diarrhea”…). According to FDA data, Michigan has been hardest hit by this outbreak, with 1,100-1,200 confirmed cases, followed by Ohio with 400-500.

If Taylor Farms ends up being officially implicated as the supplier of the lettuce, this will be at least the fourth foodborne illness outbreak tied to the company’s operations since 2013, when it was tied to another cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to salad mix. In 2024, Taylor Farms was the provider of the slivered onions used on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers that caused an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections across 14 states.

And in 2015, FDA investigated an E. coli outbreak in seven states tied to Costco rotisserie chicken salad products — and although it did not identify a common source of the contamination, Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled the celery and onion diced blend used in the Costco chicken salad and many other products containing celery, because they might have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, according to the CDC web site.