The Food and Drug Administration has identified Taylor Farms as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak affecting Taco Bell customers, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The probe focuses on hundreds of cases reported across Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
Nearly 7,000 individuals have fallen ill nationwide, though investigators have not yet determined which sources are responsible for cases outside the four-state region currently under scrutiny. The FDA's attention on Taylor Farms, which supplies lettuce to the fast-food chain, marks a significant development in the ongoing public health crisis.
Taco Bell responded to the outbreak by removing certain ingredients from its restaurants as a precautionary measure. In a recent statement, the company emphasized that officials had not yet confirmed the contamination source, describing the ingredient removal as voluntary and temporary.
This is not the first time Taylor Farms has been linked to foodborne illness outbreaks. In 2013, the company's salad mix sickened hundreds of people with cyclosporiasis. More recently, Taylor Farms was identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak in 2024 traced to onions served at McDonald's restaurants.
The outbreak has attracted widespread attention, even reaching Capitol Hill. When TMZ's Washington team encountered Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett, the congressman joked that Taco Bell might be responsible for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's apparent flatulence incident on the Senate floor, rather than blaming Schumer himself.
The investigation remains ongoing as federal health officials work to pinpoint the exact contamination source and prevent further illnesses. The scope of the outbreak and the supplier's previous food safety issues raise questions about supply chain oversight in the fast-food industry.