---
title: Central Mexican Iceberg Lettuce Was Pulled From 27 States After a Parasite Outbreak
description: Iceberg lettuce from central Mexico was withdrawn across 27 states after a cyclospora outbreak traced to lettuce served in restaurants.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-03T21:21:35.224Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/iceberg-lettuce-recall-cyclospora-outbreak-27-states
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/iceberg-lettuce-recall-cyclospora-95015.webp
categories: Everyday Wellness
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Health Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico has been withdrawn from the American market after a cyclospora outbreak that health investigators traced to lettuce served in restaurants.

Taylor Farms de Mexico, based in Guanajuato, recalled the lettuce on July 17. The Food and Drug Administration reported that the recalled product had gone to 27 states between June 29 and July 16, which is why a supply problem in one growing region turned into a national one.

The outbreak behind it was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 16, covering illnesses linked to lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, and running to more than 1,644 people at that point. By the end of July the count had reached at least 1,947 cases across nine states, with Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Pennsylvania added, according to [Washington State's health department](https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/foodborne-illness/outbreaks/2026-cyclosporiasis-outbreak), which has been publishing its own account of the national picture alongside its local one.

## Most of the Recalled Lettuce Went to Restaurant Kitchens

The recall covers all iceberg lettuce Taylor Farms sourced from central Mexico, and the bulk of the withdrawn list is food-service supply rather than anything a shopper would recognize: chopped lettuce, shredded lettuce cut to a quarter, an eighth and three eighths of an inch, and lettuce and romaine blends mixed at 50/50 and 80/20. Two retail products are on the list, Marketside Iceberg Salad in 12 and 24 ounce packs and Marketside Shredded Lettuce in 8 and 16 ounce bags.

[Taylor Farms says](https://www.taylorfarms.com/cyclospora-information-hub/) it took the implicated product off the market immediately and then widened the recall, out of what it calls an abundance of caution, to cover every iceberg lettuce it sourced from the region. It states that anything currently on shelves is not the affected product. Anyone who still has the recalled lettuce at home is told to throw it away rather than eat it, with refunds available where it was bought, and anyone who has become ill after eating it is told to contact their physician.

## Taylor Farms Has Suspended Its Central Mexico Production

The company has gone further than the recall itself. It has voluntarily stopped sourcing and producing iceberg lettuce in central Mexico altogether, and as of July 18 it temporarily suspended production of everything else at its facility there. It has commissioned independent experts to run a top to bottom review of food safety processes and protocols at that site.

Taylor Farms says it maintains what it describes as best in class cyclospora prevention protocols and puts more than $200 million a year into food safety systems that are independently audited and verified. It also states that, according to the FDA, there were no confirmed positive sample results from product testing for cyclospora as of July 24.

## A Reference Laboratory Began Publishing Its Own Positivity Data

ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory and a nonprofit enterprise of the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, has added cyclospora to the public dashboard on which it tracks how often its own tests come back positive. The laboratory says the positivity rate for cyclospora climbed from very low levels to unprecedented levels in a short period.

"We designed the dashboard to evolve as new public health needs emerge," said Ben Bradley, head of clinical operations for infectious disease at ARUP. "The scale and rapid growth of this cyclosporiasis outbreak created strong interest from our clients, and adding Cyclospora data allows us to provide near-real-time visibility into disease activity that complements traditional public health reporting."

The dashboard launched in May 2026, and ARUP describes it as the first tool from an American reference laboratory to publish laboratory test positivity trends for several pathogens at once. Citing the CDC, the laboratory says the agency was aware of more than 11,500 further cases still going through investigation and analysis as of July 28, on top of the confirmed ones across 45 states.

## Washington's Case Files Point Mostly at Travel to Mexico

The lettuce outbreak sits inside a larger rise. Since May 1 the CDC has received 6,707 reports of cyclosporiasis acquired inside the United States, meaning infections in people who were not infected while traveling abroad, and that is an increase on the same period in 2025. The 1,947 lettuce cases are part of that total.

Washington State is a useful place to look at the rest of it, because none of the recalled lettuce was distributed there and the state is not currently seeing a rise among residents who stayed put. It recorded 60 cases between May 1 and July 31, one of which led to a hospital stay and none of which were fatal. Of the 57 patients its investigators interviewed about travel, 40 had been to a country where cyclosporiasis is endemic, 36 of them to Mexico, and one had been to a country where it is not.

The remaining 16 had not left the United States. Nine of those had traveled to a state reporting an outbreak or a rise in cases, two of them tied to the Taco Bell outbreak in Michigan; five had been to a state with no reported increase; and two had not left Washington at all. In an earlier post on July 17, when the state had 36 cases on its books, it put the endemic-travel share at 27 of those, or 75 percent, with 24 of the 27 reporting travel to Mexico.

The Washington health department says it is not currently seeing a suspected food source or signs of an outbreak in the state, and advises continuing routine produce safety practices to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. It lists the symptoms of cyclosporiasis as prolonged watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, loss of appetite and fatigue, and tells anyone experiencing them to contact a healthcare provider and mention recent travel and the foods they have eaten.

## FAQ

**Q: How many people have been affected, and where?**
Since May 1 the CDC has received 6,707 reports of cyclosporiasis acquired inside the United States, an increase on the same period last year, and ARUP Laboratories says the agency was aware of more than 11,500 further cases under investigation as of July 28, spread across 45 states. At least 1,947 of the confirmed cases belong to the outbreak linked to lettuce served at Taco Bell in nine states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

**Q: What exactly was recalled, and could it still be in stores?**
Taylor Farms recalled all the iceberg lettuce it sourced from central Mexico. Most of the list is restaurant supply, chopped and shredded cuts and lettuce and romaine blends, with two retail lines included, Marketside Iceberg Salad and Marketside Shredded Lettuce. The recalled product was distributed between June 29 and July 16, and the company says anything on shelves now is not the affected product. Anyone who still has it at home is told to discard it, with refunds available where it was bought.

**Q: Was the parasite ever actually found on the lettuce?**
Taylor Farms says that, according to the FDA, no product testing had returned a confirmed positive result for cyclospora as of July 24. The recall followed a traceback investigation that connected the illnesses to lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in the outbreak states.

**Q: How did people in states with no outbreak catch it?**
Washington State's files give the clearest read. None of the recalled lettuce reached the state, and of the 57 patients it interviewed, 40 had traveled to a country where cyclosporiasis is endemic, mostly Mexico. Of the 16 who had not left the country, nine had traveled to a state reporting an outbreak or a rise in cases, including two connected to the Taco Bell outbreak in Michigan.