Kennedy says cyclospora outbreak is under control, source identified

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday the cyclospora outbreak was under control and that investigators had identified the source, even as federal agencies and state officials were still working through a changing traceback picture.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the July 2026 outbreak to iceberg lettuce in five states, and the illness had sickened more than 1,600 people. The probe also tied Taylor Farms lettuce sourced from central Mexico, while Taylor Fresh Foods said it was voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market. Taylor Farms later recalled iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 states.

The Food and Drug Administration later determined a Taylor Farms shredded lettuce sample that initially tested positive for cyclospora was a false positive after follow-up review. Michigan officials also said lettuce and salad mixes were the likely source, but no single grower, supplier or brand had been definitively identified at that point.

Sen. Jon Ossoff criticized Kennedy over the administration’s decision to end FoodNet surveillance for cyclospora a year earlier, saying in a July 16 letter that FoodNet had required surveillance of Cyclospora cayetanensis and accusing Kennedy of dismantling critical public health programs. A separate July 17 Senate letter from Sen. Richard Blumenthal to CDC Acting Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya asked whether staffing reductions or reorganization at the CDC had affected its ability to investigate the outbreak. The CDC scaled back cyclospora monitoring in July 2025, before the current outbreak emerged. Check refrigerators for recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, do not serve or eat product tied to the recall, and follow disposal or return instructions from the recall notice.