On July 16, after reports of Cyclospora infections mounted for weeks without answers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an outbreak cluster including more than 1,600 people in five Midwestern states.

Based on epidemiological information collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of 1,644 people across Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia were infected with C. cayetenensis after exposure to Taco Bell food.

Michigan public health officials analyzed food exposure details from 190 of the outbreak cases who reported eating Taco Bell and shared those findings with CDC. Ingredient-level analyses on meals eaten by these cases indicate that 90 percent of those interviewed reported eating iceberg lettuce. 

Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 13, 2026, to July 13, 2026. There have been 94 hospitalizations, and no deaths have been reported.

Taco Bell Will Stop Using Lettuce Supplier

FDA’s traceback investigation identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by Taco Bell locations where sick people ate before becoming ill. Taco Bell told FDA it will discontinue sourcing any lettuce from the implicated supplier. The agency is also working directly with the supplier to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the U.S. market.

Although FDA and CDC have not officially named the implicated supplier, "a source familiar with the investigation" told CNN that the Mexican-grown lettuce was supplied by Taylor Farms.

In a July 16 statement, Taco Bell said, "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 has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same."

Investigation Continues

As part of the investigation, FDA and state partners have initiated collection of product samples for testing and analysis. Additionally, FDA has increased border checks for products implicated in the outbreak.

The investigation is ongoing to determine the source and scope of the contamination. Additional implicated brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels may be identified as the investigation continues.

Addressing Confusion About Differing Numbers From Michigan, CDC

Because the number of cyclosporiasis cases seen across the U.S.—and especially in Michigan—has been elevated in comparison to previous summers, and because an official outbreak cluster had not been announced until a July 14 health advisory from CDC, consumers and media have looked to several federal and state sources for data to try to understand the situation, causing public confusion.

As of July 16, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDOH) has reported 4,312 cases of cyclosporiasis within the state since late June, resulting in 102 hospitalizations. This number differs from the FDA and CDC outbreak count because all 4,000-plus people who fell in Michigan may not be part of the outbreak, or some cases may still be under investigation to determine whether they are.

Additionally, 2026 national surveillance numbers reported by CDC track laboratory-confirmed cases in the U.S. overall, which include this outbreak as well as illnesses that are not a part of this outbreak. This number includes 1,645 cases across 34 states. However, per CDC, “Multiple jurisdictions have reported an increase of cases compared to the same period in 2025. [The agency assumes] a six-week reporting lag between illness onset and case reporting to CDC; therefore, [the agency anticipates] that case counts will continue to rise as data are received.”

In a July 16 briefing hosted by George Washington University's Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security, food science and consumer advocacy experts explained how the complexity of the foodborne illness surveillance system across the U.S. leads to federal–state reporting lags, especially as a worsening lack of resources strains the system. Additionally, the biology of C. cayetenensis, including its long incubation period and diagnostic testing limitations, presents unique challenges related to the identification of infections and clusters of cases. They also discussed the difficulty of disseminating public health information amid uncertainty, and the consequences such uncertainty has on consumer confidence and safety.

U.S. Cyclosporiasis Reports Increase Year After Year

Since the 1990s, the prevalence of C. cayetanensis has had an upward trajectory, trending toward possible endemicity. As explained by expert Larry Keener, CFS, PA in Food Safety Magazine, domestic cases of Cyclospora infections more than doubled from 537 in 2016 to 1,194 in 2017, and then nearly tripled to 3,519 cases in 2018. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. ranged from a high in 2019 of 2,408 cases to a low in 2021 of 1,024 cases. By 2023, there were nearly 3,000 cases of cyclosporiasis reported in the U.S.

In the July 16 GWU IFSNS briefing, Craig Hedberg, Ph.D., Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota, suggested that the year-over-year increase in reported Cyclospora infections in the U.S. could, in part, be a result of improved diagnostic testing; specifically, the growing use of culture-independent diagnostic tests (CIDTs), which make the clinical identification of cyclosporiasis more likely.