Investigators name Taylor Farms lettuce sold to Taco Bell as a potential source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak behind 'explosive' diarrhea

Taylor Farms describes itself as one of the world's leading producers of salads and fresh foods. It did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment. Neither did the CDC or FDA. No agency has publicly confirmed Taylor Farms or any single supplier as the source, and the investigation is ongoing.

Taco Bell said it will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidance of health authorities. "The health and safety of our guests is our top priority," the company said. It has previously said it "voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure." Notices at some Detroit-area locations told customers the chain couldn't sell lettuce, cilantro-onion, pico de gallo or guacamole because of a nationwide recall, according to media reports.

Not everyone is convinced the produce trail is solid. The International Fresh Produce Association criticized how officials are running the investigation. "Everything pointing to produce is based on recollections of patients, and even those recollections — based on what we hear — explain, at most, only half of the current cases," said Max Teplitski, the group's chief science officer, in comments to CNN.

Are shoppers overreacting?

The fear is already reshaping how people shop. In Midland, Michigan, one resident who went looking for lettuce found the local farmers market completely sold out; a vendor told her their supply vanished in 27 minutes. A CNN story, "Is everyone afraid of salad now?" noted that some consumers have started eyeing the entire produce aisle with suspicion.

Food-safety experts say that's an overcorrection. "You can and should continue to eat fruits and vegetables," said James E. Rogers, director of food safety at Consumer Reports, who recommends skipping the prechopped and prebagged options rather than swearing off produce entirely.

Because the parasite can't simply be rinsed off, health officials say the safest steps are buying whole heads of lettuce over bagged greens and cooking produce when possible. For your grocery budget, the smarter play is being selective rather than panic-buying pricier alternatives or throwing food out.

Why does this keep happening?

There's also a bigger reason the source has been so hard to pin down. As of July 2025, the CDC's FoodNet surveillance network made tracking cyclospora optional, requiring routine reporting only for salmonella and E. coli — the two pathogens behind the largest foodborne outbreaks. Critics argue that it's left investigators flying partly blind. "Outbreaks like this, and possibly worse, will happen again and again until we change course," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat. Some epidemiologists push back, noting FoodNet was never built to detect outbreaks and that cyclospora is still a nationally notifiable disease — states like Michigan kept tracking it regardless.

Watch for recall notices, be choosy in the produce aisle, and if you develop watery diarrhea that lingers or keeps returning one to two weeks after eating fresh produce, see a doctor and ask specifically for a cyclospora test — experts note the infection is treatable with the antibiotic combination trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but only if someone looks for it.