Cyclospora parasite outbreak linked to lettuce expands to 9 states, with over 1,900 people sickened

An outbreak of parasitic illness linked to iceberg lettuce is affecting nine U.S. states, federal health officials have announced. That's up from the five affected states that were identified in earlier stages of the officials' investigation.

This lettuce-related outbreak is one of several in the U.S. that are being caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which can enter the body when someone consumes food or water contaminated with the organism. The federal government has not officially identified a source of contamination in the other Cyclospora outbreaks yet, although some state officials have mentioned potential culprits. (North Carolina officials have pointed to cilantro and parsley, for example.)

The nine-state outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce includes cases in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To date, 1,947 people have been infected across these states and reported eating Taco Bell before they got sick. There have been 98 hospitalizations and no deaths.

Data collected by federal officials had previously pointed to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell as a common source of exposure, and from there, they identified the supplier as Taylor Farms de Mexico. "Taco Bell has indicated they are no longer using lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico as of July 17, 2026," the FDA noted.

Specifically, the infections have been linked to lettuce sourced from central Mexico, prompting Taylor Farms to remove all of its iceberg lettuce from that region from the U.S. market. The company has also issued a recall. A complete list of recalled products can be found on the FDA's website.

The recall affects products that were distributed in the nine states listed above, as well as additional states, all of which are listed on the FDA's website. Consumers, restaurants and retailers that purchased or received recalled lettuce are advised to discard it immediately and not consume it.

"We also expect to continue to see the number of confirmed cases rise, despite the recall, due to the fact that it can take as long as six weeks for CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and state officials to determine if a sick person is part of this outbreak," the FDA's latest update notes. "FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak and ensure products implicated in this outbreak have been removed from the market."