Iceberg lettuce recalled in 27 states due to potential cyclospora contamination

Product supplier Taylor Farms remembering iceberg lettuce It was shipped to 27 US states due to potential contamination with the cyclospora parasite, which causes thousands of cases of diarrhea nationwide.

The company said it was “actively removing” the products, suspending distribution of iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico to the United States, and no longer receiving product from that batch.

“Consumers who purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should immediately discard it and not consume it,” the company said.

Taylor Farms said its shredded iceberg lettuce product was distributed between June 29 and July 16 in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The recall notice includes some product descriptions, including brand abbreviations and expiration dates, but does not mention specific retailers, restaurants or product names.

“At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly made distribution information or a list of customers who have received the voluntarily removed product from the market,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. update Friday.

However, many brands said they are removing Taylor Farms lettuce products from their stores and supplies.

Brands affected by the recall

Federal health officials have linked a large cyclospora outbreak in the Midwest to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants In Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Taco Bell said Friday it is removing lettuce from its restaurants and its supply chain nationwide.

The FDA said more states may be added to the list as more information becomes available.

On Saturday, Jack in the Box said the recalled romaine lettuce had been distributed to stores in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. When the company was notified, it immediately removed the affected products and replaced them with lettuce from another domestic source of supply.

“At this time, no illnesses have been reported related to food served at Jack in the Box in connection with the FDA’s ongoing investigation,” the company said in a statement.

Sysco, the restaurant’s food distributor, also said it took action on Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce from Mexico.

“Sysco proactively removed all Taylor Farms processed iceberg lettuce products from distribution in Mexico and instructed customers to destroy them after regulators noted a suspected link between Taylor Farms lettuces and the Cyclospora outbreak in five states,” a spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. he said.

Walmart told CNN in a statement that it had no indication that its products were affected by the cyclospora outbreak, but that it had removed four Marketside-branded bagged lettuce salad products from certain locations as a precaution.

US Foods said a “limited number” of products under the Cross Valley Farms brand were affected by the recall and began notifying customers on Friday.

Symptoms and spread

People with cyclosporiasis may have: symptoms These include watery diarrhea, cramping, and bloating that last for weeks and can lead to dehydration.

Cases of the intestinal disease caused by a microscopic parasite are on the rise across the U.S., with nearly 7,000 confirmed or under investigation in 34 states since May 1, according to data released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal health officials said multiple investigations are ongoing, some linked to a large outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and some involving cases not yet tied to any clusters.

So far, the outbreak linked to lettuce is considered to be a regional outbreak centered in the Midwest. The Michigan state health department reported more than 5,000 cases of cyclosporiasis during the outbreak investigation. The state health department said it “cannot say with certainty that every illness is linked to the same source of exposure,” but that the intense and sharp increase in cases “strongly indicates that the vast majority of these illnesses are associated with the same outbreak.” This would make it the largest cyclospora outbreak ever recorded in the United States.

Taylor Farms’ products have also been linked to previous disease outbreaks. E. coli cases In 2024, it was tied to striped onions and cyclospora cases It was associated with lettuce in 2013.

CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.

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