Taco Bell says it has removed all lettuce supplied from Taylor Farms from its restaurants, after multiple reports citing unnamed sources linked Taylor Farms lettuce to a multi-state cyclosporiasis outbreak.
The fast-food chain’s statement, posted on Instagram on Friday, July 17, is the first signal that Taylor Farms is the likely source of shredded lettuce linked to an ongoing outbreak.
“We want you to hear it from us. We take your health and safety seriously and have removed all affected Taylor Farms lettuce from Taco Bell stores,” read the statement posted on Taco Bell’s Instagram account. “So go ahead and enjoy your Taco Bell today. You always got us. We always got you. See you in the drive-thru.”
Taylor Farms, headquartered in Salinas, California, confirmed on Friday, July 17, in a social media post it was removing iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the marketplace.
In a statement posted Friday, Taylor Farms said, “Based on information provided yesterday by the FDA, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.”
No Taylor Farms branded salads or kits are associated with this outbreak, the statement added.
Thousands have been sickened by cyclosporiasis across the country. On Thursday, July 16, federal health officials said lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants had been linked to the ongoing outbreak of the stomach-churning parasitic infection. A single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico had been identified as being used by Taco Bell locations in five states, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said late Thursday, July 16.
That shredded iceberg lettuce had been served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to an outbreak, according to federal and state health officials.
USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor Farms, HHS, FDA and CDC for comment.
Taylor Farms says health and safety a ‘top priority’
Earlier in the day, Taylor Farms said in its statement that “the health and safety of our consumers is always our top priority.”
“We are committed to delivering fresh, wholesome products that meet the highest quality standards. In the rare event a product does not meet these standards, we take immediate action to remove affected items from distribution and notify our customers,” the statement said.
USA TODAY has reached out to Taylor Farms.
What food safety experts are saying
Many food safety experts, who were in attendance at the Food Safety Latam Summit 2026, held July 15 to 16 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, suspected Taylor Farms was involved in the outbreak.
“Of course, the topic of conversation was when somebody was going to leak that it was Taylor Farms, and then the question is whether or not the lettuce came from Mexico or from Salinas,” food safety lawyer Bill Marler told USA TODAY.
“Basically everyone down here was like, it’s Taylor Farms because they’re big and they supply Taco Bell. I was actually waiting for somebody in public health to say that,” said Marler, who on July 16 filed a lawsuit in federal court in the northern district of Ohio on behalf of a man who said he became infected with Cyclospora after dining at Taco Bell on June 14 and June 21 in North Olmsted, Ohio.
The gastrointestinal illness, which can cause frequent, watery diarrhea or explosive bowel movements, nausea, cramps, bloating and low-grade fever, has sickened people in 34 states.
Contributing: Reuters; Eve Chen, USA TODAY