Taylor Farms on Friday said it is “voluntarily removing” iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico after it was linked to one of the largest outbreaks of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. in recent years.
“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the U.S.’s iceberg lettuce supply, as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the company said in a statement.
The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Friday night that its traceback investigation identified a single supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, and that consumers should avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico at Taco Bells in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia while its investigation continues.
In a follow-up notice on Saturday, the FDA said that a sample of lettuce from Mexico that was supplied by Taylor Farms had tested positive for cyclospora, the parasite which causes cyclosporiasis.
“This sample was collected during targeted import surveillance as a result of this outbreak investigation,” the FDA said in a statement, adding though that the positive sample was not part of Taylor Farms’ current recall.
“They are currently working to identify whether any part of this implicated lot is available in commerce or in consumers homes,” the FDA said.
On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified lettuce supplied to select Taco Bell restaurants as a source of the multistate outbreak, more than a month after cases first began to appear.
A source familiar with the investigation had told CBS News on Thursday that the supplier was Salinas, California-based Taylor Farms. The iceberg lettuce was distributed to Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, according to the CDC.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the investigation is continuing.
“The investigation remains active, and additional states, restaurants, retailers, or products may be identified as more information becomes available,” said Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for HHS.
Taco Bell removes lettuce
Taco Bell said that as of Friday, it “has completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants.”
“Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell worked swiftly to voluntarily remove the product from restaurants and the affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide,” Taco Bell Corp. said Friday in a statement. “We took this action to ensure our guests can enjoy their Taco Bell favorites safely.”
“We believe public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests,” Taco Bell Corp. said. “Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same.”
Data shows that sales at the fast-food chain have taken a hit amid the outbreak. According to Consumer Edge, which compiles spending data based on credit and debit transactions, year-over-year sales growth at Taco Bell was 4.2% in the week ending July 11, the slowest rate since April.
“Our data still shows positive year-over-year sales growth for Taco Bell, but that growth has slowed very recently,” Michael Gunther, senior vice president of research and market intelligence at Consumer Edge, told CBS News in an email.
Concerns about the outbreak could be the cause of the slower growth, he added.
The outbreak could also be dampening foot traffic at Taco Bell and other fast-food chains with lettuce-heavy menus, separate data from foot traffic analytics platform Placer.ai shows.
“While we only have a few days of data to work with, cyclospora headlines and product removals at some QSR [quick service restaurant] chains appear to be weighing modestly on visitation,” the analytical team for Placer.ai said in an email.
Walmart removes some lettuce products as a precaution
Retail giant Walmart announced Saturday it was also removing four Marketside bagged iceberg lettuce salad products from its stores in more than two dozen states.
“Although there is no indication that products sold in our stores are affected by the current Cyclospora investigations, we have removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products from select locations as a precaution after receiving notice from our supplier,” Walmart said in a statement, noting that “there have been no confirmed illnesses associated with these products at this time.”
The retailer advised those who have purchased the products to discard them or return them for a refund, out of an abundance of caution.
Scope of the outbreak
The outbreak, first reported in May, has spread to 34 states, sickening at least 1,644 people, according to the CDC. However, the CDC’s tally lags behind state health departments, which have reported much larger numbers of cases. For instance, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 5,000 confirmed cases as of Friday.
No deaths have been reported.
“As a family-owned company, we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the Americans whose trust in the safety of fresh produce has been shaken,” Taylor Farms said in its statement Friday.
“We are committed to doing everything in our power to address this issue, support the ongoing investigation, and help restore trust,” the company added.
What is cyclosporiasis?
The food- and waterborne illness cyclosporiasis is caused by the cyclospora parasite, which causes long-lasting, watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, according to public health experts.
Outbreaks typically occur in the late spring and summer, and have historically been linked to bagged salads, cilantro, basil, raspberries, snow peas and green onions.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the investigation is continuing and other sources could still be identified.
