More patients have been identified in an outbreak of infections from the Cyclospora parasite. The outbreak is linked to iceberg lettuce products from Taylor Farms.
Michigan is reporting 6,571 patients, up from 6,148 reported on July 20. Ohio’s most recent count is 2,029. A number of patients in Michigan reported eating iceberg lettuce on items from Taco Bell. The restaurant chain has stopped using lettuce from Taylor Farms.
The produce company recalled its shredded iceberg lettuce and salad kits containing iceberg lettuce on July 17. Its customers include Walmart, Costco, Target, Whole Foods, McDonald’s and Taco Bell, as well other fast food chains and Sysco, which is the country’s largest food service supplier. Sysco supplies a number of restaurant chains in addition to hospitals, schools, hotels and other foodservice operators.
While some states are reporting thousands of outbreak patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s count remains stagnant. As of July 21 the agency was still reporting only 1,644 people who had cyclosporiasis from May 13 to July 13. The CDC report says there are patients in 34 states and that there is more than one outbreak. The agency says there are another 5,100 patients whose illnesses are under investigation.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday the multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak is “under control.” During a press briefing July 21, Kennedy said the Department of Health and Human Services had conducted extensive epidemiological investigations.
About Taylor Farms
Taylor Farms, founded by Bruce Taylor, is not a family farm. Rather, it is a major corporate entity that has 25,000 employees and booked $6 billion revenue.
The company owns Earthbound Farms in California and also has growing operations in Mexico. It has more than 40 percent of the bagged salad market in the United States.
In 2013, Taylor Farms salad mix out of Guanajuato went to Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and sickened hundreds with Cyclospora. In 2024, Taylor Farms slivered onions went onto McDonald’s Quarter Pounders; more than a hundred people were sickened and one person died. The FDA found dozens of violations at the plant that processed the onions, including dirty equipment.
On July 16, Taylor Farms executives met with both White House and FDA officials to defend their company and argue that there were “shortfalls” in the outbreak response by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a spokesperson told The New York Times.
About Cyclospora
Cyclospora is a type of protozoa, which is a tiny, single-celled organism. It is transmitted when people somehow ingest contaminated feces, typically through contaminated food or water. It can be spread only through human waste, unlike E. coli and salmonella, which can also be spread from animal fecal matter.
Anyone who has developed symptoms of Cyclospora infection, and has reason to believe they have been exposed to the parasite, should seek medical attention. Specific tests are required and antibiotics are used to fight the parasite.
Cyclospora infection can cause severe abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, body aches, fatigue and severe dehydration. Symptoms can develop between two and 14 days after exposure. Though symptoms can be severe enough to send people to the hospital and can last more than a month. Symptoms can subside and then reoccur.
Food safety experts say washing produce does not remove the parasites because they become embedded in the produce.