Taylor Farms linked to Taco Bell lettuce as cyclosporiasis source

foodJul 16, 2026511,725

A law firm, Marler Clark, has filed multiple federal lawsuits accusing California-based Taylor Farms of supplying romaine lettuce that caused an E. coli outbreak in November that sickened 89 people across 15 states. The suits, two filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis and six in St. Louis, say the outbreak led to 36 hospitalizations, seven cases of acute kidney failure and one death. Two Indiana plaintiffs named in the complaints are 10-year-old Colton George, hospitalized Nov. 17 to Dec. 5 after eating Kroger romaine tied to the outbreak, and Lilly Hasenour, hospitalized Nov. 11 to Dec. 7 after consuming romaine at school. Marler Clark says federal investigators used whole genome sequencing to trace the cases to Taylor Farms romaine but redacted the names of distribution centers, brokers, processors, growers and ranches in the investigation documents. The complaints also allege the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration closed their joint probe on Feb. 5 without making the source information public. Taylor Farms denies being the source, saying its product testing found no contamination.

Phil Lewis

@phillewis.bsky.social

Investigators have linked shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms as a potential source of contamination in the cyclosporiasis outbreak, according to a report

4855h ago

Kami51

Its always Taylor Farms! I used to love their salad kits too

John Grunder12

I live 15 miles away from the Taylor Farms lettuce farms in the Salinas Valley... I ate their lettuce last week and did not get sick... while my mother 2,000 miles away did not eat any lettuce and did get sick... All I am sure of is that it is Trump's fault for gutting the FDA and CDC... 🤨

Professor Sutton10

Taylor Farms salad got me sick a few years back - I stopped eating them after that 😭

ONE INFINITY9

If this amount is stated to be confirmed, just imagine how many undocumented cases exist. That's the thing about a pathogen, that's why we had a ROBUST CDC until... Now, OUR FOOD SUPPLY is sickening Americans! IS IT GREAT YET? -ONE.🇺🇸🤔 bsky.app/profile/forb... -ONE.

newblue25.bsky.social6

I post notes to myself. One says *Never eat anything from Taylor Farms* after a previous food contamination issue.

AJ Nyx (she/her)5

Yep, I gotta move some money and bills and get a hydroponic setup at home. I'm tired of being nervous every time I buy a vegetable.

Quoting this

lowtax speedrun enjoyer392

i feel like if i know the name of your produce company - and i know taylor farms - you’ve probably done enough bad shit that they should shut you down

Dr. Damien P. Williams has to go the way his blood beats55

It's fucked up that I saw this Taylor Farms information three days ago in a facebook screenshot before I saw anything official from anywhere.

Kacey32541

It's not just Taco Bell. Taylor Farms supplies Ralphs, Gelson's, Vallarta, Bristol Farms, McDonald's, Chipotle, Subway, Burger King, the grocery stores in the screenshot, and more. This isn't their first food safety issue. They were the cause of the recent major E. Coli outbreak. They are unsafe.

Mikki Kendall37

Threads figured this out a week ago...

kelly jensen30

Social media folks pinged it to Taylor Farms nearly a week ago. www.facebook.com/kristina.woo...

NuDog21

Taylor Farms (formerly Taylor Fresh Foods), which accounts for one in every three salads consumed in the U.S. and Canada, is a massive, privately-held producer of salads and fresh foods, generating $7 billion in annual revenue. They are likely going to pay a tiny fine, and go right back to it!

Kimberley Johnson18

Lettuce pray we don't get explosive diarrhea. (not sorry)

Ser T, Trader of Rogues, Guarder of Veils8

Welp, I'm not getting Taylor Farms for a good long while, which stinks because they have my favorite salad mixes.

Sara Sanchez6

I ordered food from Taco Bell one time, tasted it and was like "absolutely not" and never looked back. I feel extremely good about that decision today.

Jonny Wakefield5

It’s always the ones you least suspect

Kari Dru

@karidru.bsky.social

Re: cyclospora, Taco Bell having ethics and going "you know what, it's always the fucking lettuce, why don't we just pull that until we know what's going on" resulting in all the outlets going "LETTUCE SOLD AT TACO BELL LINKED TO EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA" is a fantastic way to discourage ethics in future.

1761h ago

Kari Dru47

It's also going to hurt people because they'll think they're in the clear if they don't eat Taco Bell. And that's not true. It's grocery store salad also.

Adam21

Taylor farms , owned by a Trump donor, supplies bagged lettuce to *everywhere*. Taco bell did the right thing proactively, and they are getting all the blame. The blame lies with RFK period. Taco bell being the fall guy is crazy.

SeasonalPun15

Meanwhile the people that make “raw cheese” or whatever it is declined to recall their tainted produce and almost nobody seems to have heard that.

JayIsPainting 🍁13

As a former food industry person, this makes me so mad. They did the right thing.

Veleda_k4

But if I acknowledge the facts, how will I get in my "Mexican food is scary and dirty" jokes?

Mary!! 🐓❤️2

awful :( good on them for being safe and giving a shit (no pun intended lol)

Quoting this

WhinterQueen60

i’ve been in restaurant and farm management and knew enough to know that “taco bell lettuce” meant some big producer’s lettuce. so when ppl were also saying the grocery store deli and mcdonald’s & other big chains i knew it had to be taylor farms. but most ppl wouldn’t, they have no reason to know

crb10793

Beyond the great point here about incentives for businesses (which is why you have objective inspectors Elon!), is there another leafy veggie that is less susceptible to these organisms...like is Kale resistant/immune to them?

Victorious Bleue

@victoriousbleue.bsky.social

Taylor Farms also owns and runs Earthbound Organics, which is available in nearly every grocery store across the US

562h ago

darth™️

@darthbluesky.bsky.social

molly surely not taylor farms owned by californian republican donor bruce taylor???

1061h ago

Jeffrey11

Taco Bell would never hurt us. Not with lettuce anyway

Noah J. Nelson, Immersonaut Prime4

Ah man. Now I can’t go back to buying their bagged salads once they get rid of the diarrhea bug.

Lumpy_Space_Prince 4

Eat the Rich, wash the lettuce!

Rita1

Oh no! I always buy the salad at Costco, won't do that again

George Pearkes

@peark.es

WaPo: CDC identifies a potential source for the cyclosporiasis wave (Taco Bell supplier Taylor Farms)

Lettuce Supplier Is Potential Source of Cyclosporiasis Outbreak, Investigators Say
Summary by Bloomberg AI
Investigators have linked shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms as a potential source of contamination in the outbreak of a parasitic illness.
The 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.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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.
By Lena H. Sun and Rachel Roubein
(Washington Post) -- Investigators have linked 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 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

885h ago

Helene Meisler28

Taylor is a big distributor of bagged lettuce to supermarkets too

Alex Edwards6

The smart money has been on Taylor Farms from the beginning

Andy 🌴📈🏃🚵 🧘‍♂️2

This may hurt them a lot similar to what Chipotle went through. People will go back but it takes awhile

Quoting this

Constantine24

Taco Bell all but yelled this from the rooftops a few days ago, but you go guys!

Matt Novak

@paleofuture.bsky.social

Taylors Farms was also the McDonalds onion supplier linked to an E. Coli outbreak in 2024 where a woman died and dozens more were sickened.

725h ago

Michael Clark13

Taylor Farms came out against the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 over regulations to test food products for contamination and to allow the FDA to quarantine areas where unsafe food originated. Despite their big talk, a couple of years later the company had a series of recalls of tainted food.

Defund Wildfires5

Okay Okay But surely they won’t poison us a third time….

bertin.bsky.social3

See just as we would expect… the market reacted to Taylor Farms’ inability to not cause harm with its products and put it out of business.

hole friend1

I’m starting to notice a trend here

Quoting this

yaoi gagarin74

everyone stay safe, there's a daemon prince of nurgle running a farming operation in the US

LF3

Os caras dizimando até o McDonalds pq o secretário de saúde acha que bactéria não existe

David Roberts

@volts.wtf

This is real grim if you have, say, eaten this brand's bagged salads almost every day for months. 😬😰

792h ago

Chris Knight5

They’re the best bagged salads!!!! 😭

wcc99.bsky.social2

If you are a regular Taco Bell customer the odds are good that you have already built up a tolerance to explosive diarrhea.

Joel Humowiecki ✶✶✶✶1

I guess the four bags I have in the fridge are going in the garbage. 🤷‍♂️

Wrongolia1

Little Leaf Farms isn't available everywhere, but they grow hydroponic lettuce in greenhouses. I've always like it.

Amitah1

😲 Yikes! That my household’s go-to for most bagged veggies too.

Jbr1

Bro, I have eaten their lettuce atleast biweekly since may. 🫠 I have other issues that lead to stomach problems now I have no idea whether I’ve been poisoned.

Quoting this

Greg Greene (he/him/his)9

A diarrhea scourge linked to a Taco Bell supplier is a bit that _really_ warranted returning to the writers’ room. Far, far too on the nose.

amy brown

@amybrown.xyz

ate an entire bagged taylor farms salad earlier this week.......RIP me 🫡

1015h ago

amy brown59

has anyone tried befriending the explosive diarrhea parasite

Norm Charlatan10

Enjoy your slide into third.

Simulflow (Jerrified)1

How glad I am to live in Canada

Lauralee Nole1

You should be proud for eating your salad instead of just giving it car rides to and from work before tossing along with yogurt. Or is that just me?

Kris Wernowsky1

She died how she lived: Eating her greens.

💋SassyAss💋Sister🔥🔱ValkyrieQueen🔱❤️‍🔥🥷Resistance Fighter👊 📎

@sassysister27.bsky.social

The culprits for this epidemic turn out to be Taylor Farms and surprise, surprise Taco Bell… www.cnn.com/2026/07/16/h...

531h ago

blueginger99.bsky.social3

There was a department that monitored cyclospora for decades but it was gutted by the GOP. Same thing with Screw Worm, etc.

Strong Jersey איתן1

If you read to the end of the article it's pretty clear that Taco Bell is just one of many possible places that got the tainted lettuce. This is on Taylor Farms.

wishfulharmony.bsky.social1

stop blaming taco bell - blame RFK jr - he's the one that stopped cracking parasites @housegop.bsky.social , @senategop.govpeeps.us

Bob1

This is what happens when Taco Bell goes rogue and joined the RepubliCON Klan, I hope all Dems will stop going there, if you don’t not only are you contributing to magat Nazis but you’ll have a disgusting uncomfortable after effects called Trumparrhea

Pat🐓🍅1

So Taco Bell sells lettuce?

Scott Horton

@robertscotthorton.bsky.social

Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce is identified as the principal culprit. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

394h ago

Green Hombre5

"There are no active product recalls in place for any Taylor Farms products." www.taylorfarms.com/recall/

Dangerdill1

Damnit, Iceberg! You're ruining lettuces' reputation AGAIN.

Dorit Reiss

@doritreiss.bsky.social

Lettuce supplier (Taylor Farms) is potential source of cyclosporiasis outbreak, investigators say wapo.st/4hnnAoy via @lenasun.bsky.social @rachelroubein.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com

255h ago

Kim6

Huh, Taylor Farms is a brand in my local California supermarket, but I rarely buy bagged lettuce. And likely never will again!

Kevin Klein2

i have this brand of spinach. i'm presently eating it.

Quoting this

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD231

Taylor Farms is apparently the sponsor of the watery diarrhea problem. Lettuce be careful of what we consume.

Smol calibré2

No idea if there's crossover here but my grocery store has a huge section of these Taylor Farms products. Could be a whole different company, I don't know

@ebthen.bsky.social

The place I recognize Taylor Farms from the most is those pre-composed bowls of salad you can get in the produce section. That I stopped buying several food-borne pathogen alerts ago.

381h ago

Kami

@kami2blessed.bsky.social

Its always Taylor Farms! I used to love their salad kits too

515h ago

Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis

@kendrawrites.com

I do not want to give Yum Foods any flowers but it seems ANECDOTALLY that they were the ones who figured out it was Taylor Farms (if the reporting holds up). They removed produce from likely affected stores.

44Just now

aem711.bsky.social

@aem711.bsky.social

Taylor Farms has been responsible for other outbreaks in the past. There are lawsuits about the one in Indiana a year ago. It is suspected as the culprit for the cyclosporiasis outbreak. The folks that keep our food supply safe have all been fired. www.wishtv.com/news/i-team/...

214h ago

3 sources

washingtonpost.comLettuce supplier is potential source of cyclosporiasis outbreak, investigators say wapo.stLettuce supplier is potential source of cyclosporiasis outbreak, investigators say wishtv.comLawsuit: Feds didn't share info on E. coli outbreak in lettuce that hurt 8 in Indiana

Taylor Farms linked to Taco Bell lettuce as cyclosporiasis sourcefood

Taylor Farms linked to Taco Bell lettuce as cyclosporiasis source

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