Calif. company recalls lettuce after ‘explosive diarrhea’ linked to Taco Bell

A California farming company linked to a multi-state outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasitic infection issued a recall Friday afternoon. 

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Taylor Farms, headquartered in Salinas, said in a Friday news release that it has indefinitely stopped selling iceberg lettuce from its operations in Mexico. 

“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,” the statement said. 

The acknowledgement from Taylor Farms follows weeks of Americans falling ill to cyclospora, a foodborne parasite that can cause severe gastrointestinal stress including “explosive diarrhea,” according to UC Davis Health. The school said a stool test is one way to identify the parasite.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had earlier warned customers not to eat shredded lettuce at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia after an outbreak of cyclosporiasis infections was linked to the produce. The agency said more than 1,644 people had been sickened in the outbreak, with symptoms including watery diarrhea, cramping and nausea. 

The CDC did not identify Taylor Farms but said its investigation had identified “a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by these Taco Bell locations.” Taco Bell told NBC News it had voluntarily removed the suspected lettuce from its supply chain nationwide.

Taylor Farms said its branded salads and salad kits are not associated with the outbreak and do not contain any iceberg lettuce. The company was founded in 1995 in the Salinas Valley and employs 20,000 people at production facilities across North America and Western Europe.

The company was previously connected to an E. coli outbreak in 2024. The company did not return SFGATE’s request for comment Friday.