Taco Bell announced yesterday that it will temporarily remove lettuce from its menu in certain states after health officials linked it to an outbreak of a parasitic infection.
The fast‑food chain said it is acting out of precaution after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,645 cases of cyclosporiasis, a disease caused by a parasite that spreads through contaminated food or water.
The Food and Drug Administration urged customers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Although no deaths have been recorded, 94 people were hospitalized.
Taco Bell confirmed that lettuce from one of its suppliers is being removed indefinitely, but has not yet identified the exact states where the change applies—most cases occurred in Michigan, where there are more than 3,300 infections.
The company did not disclose where the affected lettuce came from, though media reports name Taylor Farms as the supplier. The parasite is notoriously hard to trace, complicating the investigation amid funding cuts to federal health agencies.
Symptoms of cyclosporiasis—watery diarrhea, weight loss and reduced appetite—typically appear about two weeks after exposure. Health experts likened the hunt for the parasite to searching for a microscopic needle in a haystack.
Our reporters, Madeline Halpert, Kayla Epstein, and Grace Goodwin, contributed to this story.
