Investigators have identified shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms as a potential source of contamination in the outbreak of a parasitic illness that has sickened thousands in the United States, according to two individuals familiar with the investigation.
The two spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the ongoing investigation.
This summer’s outbreak of cyclosporiasis has been largely concentrated in southeastern Michigan, where more than 4,300 cases have been reported and at least 100 people have been hospitalized as of Thursday.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that they have identified a likely link among cyclosporiasis cases in four states – Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky – marking the agency’s clearest public indication yet that many of the illnesses are connected to a common source. A top official from the Food and Drug Administration said earlier this week that its investigation involves multiple produce items, including lettuce.
“The signal we have gotten is that there is a very high percentage of people who got sick at Taco Bell, and when investigators asked what their menu items were in common, lettuce came up frequently,” said one of the individuals. When the FDA asked the company where they sourced the lettuce from, it was Taylor Farms, not just for the Taco Bell stores in Michigan but also for restaurants in the three other states, the person said.
The CDC and FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taylor Farms describes itself as one of the leading global producers of salads and healthy fresh foods, with production facilities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Western Europe. Taylor Farms and Taco Bell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities in Michigan, which has been hit the hardest and has reported hundreds of cases daily, have said leafy lettuce is the leading suspected source based on interviews with more than 1,000 patients.
Notices posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants earlier this month told customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to media reports.
Taco Bell Corp. said this week that it will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidance of health authorities.
“The health and safety of our guests is our top priority,” the company said. It had said it “voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”
Cases have been identified in at least 34 states, and confirmed illnesses could continue to increase through the end of August, officials said.
Earlier this week, after Michigan officials warned that lettuce could be a culprit, the International Fresh Produce Association criticized how public health officials were investigating the outbreak.
“Everything pointing to produce is based on recollections of patients, and even those recollections – based on what we hear – explain, at most, only half of the current cases,” said Max Teplitski, the association’s chief science officer.
“We need to be candid about the limits of the data being used here,” he added. “A parasite with a notoriously complex life cycle, Cyclospora can be hard to detect in the environment, and some of the methods for its detection have performed inconsistently.”