Produce provider Taylor Farms is recalling iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 US states due to potential contamination with cyclospora, the parasite inflicting hundreds of circumstances of diarrhea throughout the nation.
The firm stated it’s “actively removing” the merchandise, has suspended distribution of iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico to the United States and is not receiving merchandise from the implicated lot.
“Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it,” the corporate stated.
Taylor Farms stated the shredded iceberg lettuce product was distributed June 29 by July 16 in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The recall discover contains model abbreviations and a few product descriptions, together with use-by dates, however doesn’t point out particular retailers or product names. The firm has said that no Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits are related to the outbreak and no Taylor Farms-branded salad kits include iceberg lettuce.
“At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market,” the US Food and Drug Administration stated in an update Friday.
Federal well being officers have linked a big cyclospora outbreak in the Midwest to shredded iceberg lettuce provided by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. Taco Bell stated Friday that it has eliminated the lettuce from its eating places and its nationwide provide chain.
The FDA stated extra states could also be added to the record as extra info comes obtainable.
Restaurant meals distributor Sysco additionally stated it’s withdrawing all Taylor Farms-processed iceberg lettuce and stopped the sale and distribution of these merchandise on Thursday.
People with cyclosporiasis might have symptoms that embrace watery diarrhea, cramping and bloating for weeks, which may lead to dehydration. Cases of the intestinal sickness attributable to a microscopic parasite are surging throughout the US, with almost 7,000 confirmed or beneath investigation in 34 states since May 1, in accordance to information printed this week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal well being officers stated there are a number of investigations underway — some tied to the big outbreak in the Midwest, some involving single states and a few involving circumstances not but tied to any cluster.
So far, the outbreak linked to the lettuce is taken into account to be a regional one, centered in the Midwest. The Michigan state well being division has reported greater than 5,000 circumstances of cyclosporiasis through the outbreak investigation. The state well being division stated that it “cannot say with certainty that every illness is linked to the same source of exposure” however that the concentrated, sharp enhance in circumstances “strongly suggests that the vast majority of these illnesses are associated with the same outbreak.” This would make it the most important cyclospora outbreak in the US on document.
Taylor Farms produce has additionally been linked with earlier sickness outbreaks, together with E. coli cases tied to slivered onions in 2024 and cyclospora cases linked with lettuce in 2013.