07/17/2026
An update on the cyclospora front!
For weeks the signal pointed at lettuce and salad greens without a source attached-- now investigators reportedly have one. Shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, served at some Taco Bell locations, has been identified as a likely source. The FDA is expected to advise people shortly to avoid shredded lettuce at Taco Bell in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana.
This is still coming from people close to the investigation, and Taco Bell says officials haven't formally confirmed a link to the chain or any supplier.
Nationally, close to 7,000 people may have been sickened since May 1. About 1,645 of those are confirmed, the rest are still under investigation, and no deaths have been reported. Michigan has been hit hardest by a wide margin and cases could keep rising through the end of August.
What does this mean for you?
If you ate at Taco Bell recently and you've had watery diarrhea, cramping, or bloating that won't let up, check in with your doctor. Cyclospora is treatable with a specific antibiotic once diagnosed. It can stretch on for weeks and come back if you leave it alone.
NOTE: This isn't only a Taco Bell story! Taylor Farms supplies plenty of grocery stores and restaurants, so the broader caution around lettuce and salad greens still holds.
Heat is still the most reliable way to kill this parasite, but that's unlikely to apply to iceberg lettuce, since it's not something you're going to cook. Washing, vinegar soaks, and salad spinners won't dependably get it off produce either. So for the food actually in question here, there's no prep trick that saves it. The safe play is skipping it until this settles out. Heat still earns its place for the other produce cyclospora travels on, like berries or herbs, if you'd rather cook those down than toss them.
If you're pregnant or immunocompromised, it's worth being extra careful right now.
Cyclospora doesn't spread person to person, and symptoms can show up a week or two after exposure. So the cases we're seeing now trace back to exposures from a while ago, and the picture should keep sharpening as investigators pin down the source.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/07/16/lettuce-supplier-is-potential-source-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-investigators-say/
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2026-07-16/taco-bell-lettuce-supplied-by-taylor-farms-linked-to-us-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-washington-post-reports
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/health/cyclospora-outbreak-shredded-lettuce