CHICAGO, July 17, 2026 — Health officials say they’ve traced a cyclospora contamination that’s sickened thousands to iceberg lettuce served by Taco Bell units in five Midwestern states. But federal officers acknowledge the mystery may not yet be fully solved.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that it’s continuing to investigate other possible sources and instances of contamination "that are unrelated to this outbreak.”
The germ-fighting agency pegs the number of cyclospora infections traced back to the Taco Bells at 1,644. In each of those instances, the victim recalled eating at one of the quick-service restaurants before being sickened. But a connection has not been found in 5,100 other cases.
Victims have been reported in 34 cases altogether, or far more than the five where the Taco Bell stores were located. Those states are Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
All of the suspected source stores were supplied with iceberg lettuce by the same vendor. The CDC did not reveal the name of the supplier, saying only that its produce was shipped from Mexico. But media reports identified the source as U.S.-based Taylor Farms, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of salad ingredients.
Taylor has informed government officials that it will recall some of its products to prevent further contaminations, according to a Bloomberg report.
The company’s products have figured into several high-profile food contaminations in recent years, including the 2024 E. coli outbreak that was eventually linked to the slivered onions used on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.
The CDC indicated that it is working with Taylor to determine if the lettuce in question was distributed to other restaurant chains.
Meanwhile, Sysco has alerted foodservice customers that it is halting distribution of the suspect lettuce until the risk of contamination is verified as over.
Taco Bell said in a statement Thursday night that "the affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”