Produce lovers of the Midwest, rejoice! Parents can stop worrying about serving their kids berries, Redditors can abandon their amateur epidemiological detective work, and one writer can finally stop cooking their salads. The mystery of what caused a cyclosporiasis outbreak across several midwestern states appears to be solved: shredded lettuce from Taco Bell, federal health agencies announced yesterday.
As far as foodborne outbreaks go, this one is practically a best-case scenario: thousands sick, zero dead, and regulators traced the culprit to a specific supplier in Mexico. That means they can now figure out what went wrong, and perhaps Americans can enjoy summer produce with slightly less existential dread. But behind the jokes about “diarrhea lettuce” and the sudden embrace of processed foods lurks a real fear that the system is failing to keep us safe - a fear that seems entirely justified given how this was handled.
The cyclosporiasis outbreak has confirmed Americans’ already-rock-bottom suspicions about the food-safety system. Trust in the U.S. food supply is at its lowest in at least 13 years, according to the International Food Information Council, with many respondents believing companies prioritize profit over safety and regulations aren’t strict enough. Confidence in the CDC and FDA is similarly in the dumps, reflecting long-standing trust issues as well as a partisan response to Trump-era changes.
The handling of this outbreak by industry and regulators was, to put it mildly, a masterclass in confusion. Many Americans suspected Taco Bell after photos of signs announcing missing toppings went viral last week, but the company’s PR team offered no clear explanation. Yesterday, Taco Bell posted that it was acting “out of an abundance of caution” by removing produce from some stores - still without explaining what went wrong. When pressed on whether the issue was isolated to the Midwest, the company directed inquiries to a statement confirming only that it “has completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants.”
Meanwhile, late last week, when Michigan had reported upwards of 1,500 positive tests for the bug, the CDC’s website still showed fewer than 200 cases nationwide. The delay may have been due to officials scrutinizing preliminary data, but from the outside it looked like the agency had no clue what was happening. Federal officials didn’t call a press conference until earlier this week - by which point Michigan had already announced 3,309 illnesses, publicly identified lettuce as the likely cause, and lettuce-less Taco Bells had gone viral. When NBC News asked if officials were looking at Taco Bell, the acting head of the FDA’s food center, Donald Prater, demurred. The first confirmation that Taco Bell was actually under investigation came not from the company or the CDC, but from anonymous sources speaking with The Washington Post.
Advice to the public has been equally muddled. Prater said during the press conference that washing produce was “very helpful,” but food-safety experts told this publication they aren’t sure how much washing actually helps. The CDC’s latest advisory offers more actionable guidance: “Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.” But it makes no mention of spikes in cyclosporiasis cases in New York and North Carolina, or what residents there should do.
News outlets report that the facility in Mexico is associated with Taylor Farms, a massive operation supplying lettuce to restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. The CDC, which didn’t name Taylor Farms in its announcement, hasn’t explained why it believes only shredded iceberg lettuce at specific Taco Bells is affected. Taco Bell’s own notice makes the issue appear broader, encouraging “all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators” to take similar precautions. The CDC’s website adds that the FDA “is working directly with the supplier to determine if contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce went to other places.”
In a statement, Taylor Farms’ parent company, Taylor Fresh Foods, said the FDA’s investigation pinpointed one “independent farm,” and the company has indefinitely removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico. The affected farm “represents less than 1% of the U.S.’s iceberg lettuce supply,” and “no other Taylor Fresh Foods products across the country are impacted.” The company did not respond to follow-up questions about whether the farm supplied iceberg lettuce to anyone other than the identified Taco Bell locations.
Perhaps the contaminated lettuce really did go only to Taco Bells in the Midwest. And maybe the apparent spikes elsewhere are just seasonal noise amplified by media frenzy. But Americans won’t know for sure unless the CDC says something. When asked today what’s causing cases outside the Midwest and why the agency is confident other Taylor Farms products are safe, a spokesperson ignored the questions and directed inquiries to previous statements. So, in summary: we solved it - but also, we’re not telling you anything else.