Taco Bell, Producer Taylor Farms, and Distributor Sysco Remove Cyclosporiasis-Linked Lettuce

Federal officials announced that iceberg lettuce supplied by a vendor to Taco Bell restaurants was identified as a likely source of the outbreak.

A Taco Bell fast food restaurant in Taylor, Mich., on July 14, 2026, Paul Sancya/AP Photo

U.S. lettuce supplier Taylor Farms is recalling iceberg lettuce after the Food and Drug Administration said evidence indicates the lettuce was the source of some of the illnesses in the cyclosporiasis outbreak.

“Based on information provided yesterday by the FDA, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market,” Taylor Farms said in a statement.

Major food distributor Sysco has also withdrawn all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, while Taco Bell has removed all affected Taylor Farms lettuce from its locations.

In a statement posted on X, Taco Bell said it takes customer health and safety seriously and has removed all affected Taylor Farms lettuce from its restaurants.

“We want you to hear it from us,” the company wrote. “So go ahead and enjoy your Taco Bell today.”

Sysco, the largest U.S. food distributor, confirmed it halted sales and distribution of the implicated lettuce on Thursday following a request from the supplier.

Cyclosporiasis is caused by a parasite that is present in produce and water contaminated with feces. Thousands have contracted cyclosporiasis in the United States in recent weeks. Federal officials announced Thursday that iceberg lettuce supplied by a vendor to Taco Bell restaurants was identified as a likely source of the outbreak, but had not identified the vendor.

Taylor Farms, based in Salinas, California, sells fresh produce as well as packaged salads and salad kits.

The company said that none of its salads or kits have been associated with the outbreak of cyclosporiasis. None of those packages contain iceberg lettuce.

“As a family owned and operated company, we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the many Americans whose trust in the safety of their fresh produce has been shaken,” Taylor Farms said. “That trust is something we’ve worked for decades to earn, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to restore that confidence.”

Epidemiological information collected by federal officials showed that 1,644 people who were infected with the Cyclospora parasite had eaten at Taco Bell, officials said on Thursday. Nine in 10 people whose food exposure was analyzed by officials in Michigan, which has recorded more than 5,000 cases, had eaten iceberg lettuce.

A traceback investigation undertaken by the FDA identified “a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by Taco Bell locations where sick people ate before becoming ill,” the FDA said in a statement.

Taylor Farms said that the apparently contaminated lettuce came from a single farm that represented less than 1 percent of the United States’ iceberg lettuce supply.

“We have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the company said.

Taylor Farms’ products have been pinpointed as causing outbreaks in the past, including salad mix from the company being behind a 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak that affected Iowa and Nebraska.