Taylor Farms recalls iceberg lettuce after cyclospora outbreak scare

Taylor Farms expanded a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce products sourced from central Mexico after federal health officials linked the greens to a multistate cyclospora outbreak. Consumers who bought the affected products should not eat them, and anyone who develops severe watery diarrhea or cramping after eating iceberg lettuce should seek medical care.

The recalled products were shipped to 27 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Jersey. The FDA’s outbreak page identifies the event as a five-state outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses tied to iceberg lettuce in July 2026, while CDC and FDA investigators linked shredded iceberg lettuce sold at some Taco Bell restaurants to the same outbreak.

The FDA said a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico tested positive for cyclospora. That sample was collected as part of the federal investigation and was not part of the recall, but it gave regulators another concrete sign that the parasite had entered the supply chain before the lettuce reached diners and grocery buyers. Taylor Farms said in a July 17 statement that it was removing implicated products and expanding the recall.

The outbreak has also drawn attention to the way cyclospora moves through produce systems. Public health experts have long tied the parasite to fresh produce and contaminated irrigation water, which means the problem can begin in the field and travel through harvesting, shredding, packing and distribution before tests or illnesses reveal the source. In this case, the fact that lettuce from central Mexico was distributed widely across the U.S. before the recall widened shows how hard rapid traceback can be once a product has entered national retail and restaurant channels.

Some chains moved quickly to separate themselves from the investigation. Wendy’s and Chipotle said they were not affected by the outbreak. Even so, the recall spans a broad swath of the country, and federal investigators are still mapping how the contamination reached store shelves and restaurant kitchens before the lettuce was pulled from sale.