The 2026 Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Taco Bell Iceberg Lettuce from Taylor Farms
On July 16, 2026, the CDC linked shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell to a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak, and the FDA traced that lettuce to a single supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico. As of the agencies’ August 5 update it covers 15 states and 6,358 illnesses, with at least 278 people hospitalized and two deaths reported in Michigan. The outbreak now includes people who ate at Taco Bell and people exposed to the recalled Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce somewhere else. Illnesses began as early as June 22, and onsets continued through July 31.
If a stubborn stomach illness has kept you close to a bathroom for days or weeks, you’re not imagining how serious it feels. Cyclospora can drag on for a month or more, and it doesn’t always respond to rest and fluids the way ordinary food poisoning does.
What the CDC and FDA Have Confirmed
On July 17, the FDA named Taylor Farms de Mexico as that supplier, the one behind the shredded iceberg lettuce used by Taco Bell locations where sick people ate. Michigan reviewed the food histories of 190 people in the outbreak who ate at Taco Bell, and about 90% reported eating iceberg lettuce. One sample flagged at the border tested positive on July 18, and the FDA re-reviewed it the next day and called it a false positive. No product sample has produced a confirmed positive since, and the agency says that retracted result doesn’t change “the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall.”
That same day, Taylor Fresh Foods recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, and the FDA posted the recall on July 18. Taco Bell told the FDA it stopped using lettuce from that supplier as of July 17, and the agency notes that not all Taco Bell locations in the affected states received the implicated lettuce. Taco Bell didn’t issue a recall of its own, so the Taylor Farms recall is the one that covers this lettuce. Taylor Fresh Foods, Inc. d/b/a Taylor Farms is the entity named as a defendant. FDA says it has also increased screening and sampling of lettuce at the border.
The FDA expects the count to keep rising even though onsets peaked in early July, because it can take as long as six weeks to tell whether someone belongs to this outbreak.
What the Marketside Recall at Walmart Covers
The Taylor Farms recall reached well past Taco Bell. Taylor Fresh Foods also recalled Marketside-brand Iceberg Salad and Shredded Lettuce sold at select Walmart stores in 15 states, with “Best if Used By” dates from July 18 to August 3, 2026, and sent other recalled products to foodservice customers. The FDA now lists known U.S. distribution in 29 states, plus recalled product sold in Mexico. Walmart shoppers saw the Marketside name on the bag, not Taylor Farms, so the Marketside recall and this one are the same event. The last Best if Used By dates have now passed, but if a recalled bag is still in your refrigerator, throw it out instead of trying to rinse it clean, because washing doesn’t reliably remove the parasite.
This matters for grocery shoppers because since August 5, the CDC’s outbreak count includes people who were exposed to the recalled lettuce without ever eating at Taco Bell. If you ate recalled lettuce bought at Walmart or served somewhere else, received a lab-confirmed Cyclospora diagnosis, and the timing and other evidence connect your illness to that product, you may have a claim against Taylor Farms.
Taylor Farms de Mexico has been tied to this parasite before. In 2013, the CDC and FDA linked a bagged salad mix from the company to restaurant illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska, many of them at Olive Garden and Red Lobster.
More Than 22,700 Sick Nationwide
The lettuce outbreak sits inside a much larger cyclosporiasis surge, and the two numbers aren’t the same thing. The outbreak itself is 6,358 illnesses, at least 278 hospitalizations, and two deaths across 15 states, with Michigan’s 3,491 cases making up more than half. Nationally, with data through August 3, 2026, CDC surveillance reported 10,468 lab-confirmed cases across 46 states, plus more than 12,255 additional cases that aren’t lab confirmed or still need further investigation, more than 22,700 in all, with 517 people hospitalized. The CDC says it’s “also investigating other outbreaks and illnesses of cyclosporiasis nationally” that are unrelated to this one.
State health departments report higher local totals than the CDC’s confirmed count, because states count both probable and confirmed cases. Michigan alone reported 12,485 cases on August 6, up from about 170 in early July, with 279 people hospitalized. There is finally some good news in those reports. Michigan says new case reports and diarrhea-related emergency visits are declining, that most exposures happened in late June and early July, and that residents can go back to their normal approach to lettuce and salad greens. If you were sickened there, our team is reviewing Michigan food poisoning cases from this outbreak. Ohio accounts for 645 cases in the outbreak itself, and you can see how food poisoning claims in Ohio work.
Two Deaths Are Now in the Official Count
CDC’s outbreak totals now include two deaths, both reported in Michigan. The FDA and Michigan’s health department say both people had significant underlying health conditions that may have been affected by cyclosporiasis and dehydration, and that both became ill before Taylor Farms’ July 17 recall. The state is releasing no further details about the two people.
Michigan’s broader statewide total is not directly comparable to CDC’s 6,358-case outbreak count because the agencies use different inclusion criteria. And no agency has said the recalled lettuce directly caused either death or that cyclosporiasis was the sole cause. Michigan still has not named a specific product, grower, or supplier in its statewide investigation, though it now says lettuce or salad greens may be a potential source. Separately, CDC and FDA link the 15-state outbreak to lettuce, and FDA’s traceback points to Taylor Farms de Mexico. That broader outbreak finding does not establish what caused either death.
Why Cyclospora Outbreaks Are Hard to Trace
The parasite needs one to two weeks outside the body before it can make anyone sick, so by the time people get tested the food is long gone. It doesn’t spread person to person, and it contaminates produce out in the field, so one bad lot can reach many restaurants at once. Every past U.S. outbreak with a confirmed source involved fresh produce, including imported cilantro and basil, raspberries, and snow peas. In 2025, fresh parsley served at restaurants drove a separate Cyclospora outbreak.
Filing a Taco Bell or Taylor Farms Lawsuit
Depending on the evidence and applicable state law, a Taco Bell lawsuit may involve Taco Bell, Taylor Farms, or both. A restaurant and its suppliers may be responsible when contaminated food causes illness. Available damages may include medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and other losses.
Ron Simon & Associates has filed the first lawsuit in the nation against Taco Bell and Taylor Farms over this outbreak, and the firm now represents hundreds of people sickened across the country. The case was filed on July 17, 2026 in Mahoning County, Ohio, and names Taco Bell, Taylor Farms, and the local franchise operator, Charter Foods, on behalf of David Ott, who served 27 years in the United States Army. A Taco Bell in Youngstown was one of his regular stops. After eating Taco Supremes there on June 18 and June 20, he was hospitalized for two days and went through a colonoscopy, a CT scan, and extensive blood and stool work before a lab confirmed Cyclospora. He went home with a prescription for Bactrim and is still recovering.
Ron Simon said: “David Ott gave twenty-seven years of his life to this country. He should not have had to spend his summer vacation in a hospital bed because a lettuce supplier and a national restaurant chain failed to keep a parasite out of the food they sold him. Cyclospora does not appear in food by accident. It gets there when produce is grown, washed, or handled in contact with human or animal feces. In this litigation, we will make sure that all of our clients are fully and fairly compensated, we will find out exactly how the lettuce became contaminated, and we will make sure that Taco Bell and Taylor Farms take the steps necessary to ensure that this never happens again.”
If you ate food from Taco Bell or recalled Taylor Farms de Mexico lettuce and later tested positive for Cyclospora, that timing matters. To learn how these cases work, start with our Cyclospora lawyer page or our broader food poisoning lawyer guide.
Ron Simon & Associates is a food poisoning law firm that has recovered over $850 million for victims nationwide. Our Cyclospora lawyers focus on foodborne illness cases and are reviewing claims from the 2026 outbreak. Contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-335-4901. You pay our law firm nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, and results vary by case.