Taco Bell announced Thursday that it has pulled lettuce from one of its suppliers in certain U.S. states, following reports that investigators have linked the ingredient to an ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis — a parasitic intestinal infection that has made thousands of Americans sick.
In a statement, the fast food chain said: “Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell has taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states.”
The company added: “The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”
Taco Bell did not identify the supplier involved or disclose which states are affected by the removal.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell locations by California-based Taylor Farms has been flagged by investigators as a possible source of contamination in the outbreak.
The outbreak began on May 1 and has hit Michigan especially hard, with Ohio and New York also seeing significant numbers of infections. Michigan health officials reported 4,312 confirmed cases of the illness as of Thursday.
Health officials have noted that while cyclosporiasis outbreaks have occurred in the U.S. before, this year’s outbreak is considerably larger in both scale and geographic reach, raising serious concern.
Earlier this week, Taco Bell had already said it removed a small number of ingredients from some of its restaurants as a precautionary step.
Bloomberg News reported Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon issue guidance warning consumers to avoid shredded lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, and Taylor Farms had not responded to requests for comment at the time of the report.
Cyclosporiasis is spread through consuming food or water contaminated with feces — most commonly raw fruits and vegetables. Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, and other gastrointestinal issues.
The outbreak is unfolding at a time when U.S. public health agencies are dealing with reduced monitoring capabilities due to recent funding cuts.
