Taylor Farms recalls lettuce shipped to 27 states over cyclospora risk

Taylor Farms has expanded its voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce products, citing a potential link to a multistate cyclospora outbreak affecting people across the United States. The company is recalling products sourced from central Mexico due to contamination risks.

The implicated products were distributed to 27 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New Jersey, according to a statement from the California-based company. Taylor Farms confirmed it is actively removing the affected products and has ceased sourcing lettuce from a specific lot in central Mexico identified as problematic.

U.S. health officials recently identified lettuce from a Mexican supplier as the source of cyclospora contamination in food served at Taco Bell restaurants in five Midwestern states. The recall announcement from Taylor Farms includes 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes. The company did not immediately provide a full list of these brands or the retailers.

Sysco, the nation's largest food distributor, has stopped distributing all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce products originating from Mexico and has instructed its customers to discard them. Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that can infect food, particularly produce, if it comes into contact with human feces, often through contaminated irrigation or wash water. Ingesting the parasite can cause intestinal illness characterized by frequent bowel movements, according to the CDC. This year, cyclospora has sickened at least 1,645 people in the U.S. and hospitalized 141, with the CDC investigating over 5,000 additional potential cases, a significant increase compared to the same period last year.

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We are actively removing the implicated products.