By
Paris MartineauInvestigative Reporter
Updated July 18, 2026
However, food safety experts say that is not the right approach. “You can and should continue to eat fruits and vegetables, but you might want to take additional precautions depending on where you live,” says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety at Consumer Reports, who notes that so far, the majority of infections have been reported in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky. “If you’re in one of those states, I recommend avoiding eating lettuce and salad greens until we know more, but currently, there is no data to support avoiding fruits and vegetables generally.”
It’s important to put the current outbreak into context, as the case pattern is somewhat unusual, Rogers says. The U.S. traditionally experiences a surge in cyclospora infections during the summer months. The parasite can be found in food and water contaminated with human feces, and infections are more likely to occur in warm or rainy weather.
By this time last year, at least 44 states had reported cases of cyclosporiasis, the disease caused by the cyclospora parasite, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On July 14, CDC officials said that although cases have only been detected in at least 34 states so far this year, the total number of illnesses reported is already “much, much higher than what we’ve seen last year or the year before.”
What’s Going On?
The CDC said on July 14 that it had identified 1,645 lab-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis and is working to confirm an additional 5,100 reports that had occurred since May. (For comparison, there were about 2,800 cases, on average, reported annually in the U.S. between 2016 and 2023.) “The true number of infections is almost certainly higher than what’s reflected in these numbers, because many people with mild illness recover without seeking medical care and are never tested,” Gwen Biggerstaff, MPH, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, said at a July 14 press conference.
So far, the recent spike in total cases seems to be largely propelled by surging infection numbers in a small handful of states. The CDC has identified a large cluster of illnesses in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana that, based on genetic testing, appear to share a common source: shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell restaurants in those states. As of July 16, in Michigan alone health officials have reported more than 4,300 cases—85 times more cases than the state saw in all of 2025. As of that date, 102 people in Michigan had been hospitalized.
In advisory notices posted late on July 16, the CDC and Food and Drug Administration said investigators had identified a single supplier of contaminated lettuce and were working with it “to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market.” The agencies did not name the supplier, but earlier that day the Washington Post reported that “two individuals familiar with the inquiry said investigators have identified Taylor Farms as the supplier of the shredded iceberg lettuce.”
Representatives from Taylor Farms, Taco Bell, the CDC, the FDA, and Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions about the accuracy of the Washington Post’s reporting regarding Taylor Farms
How Worried Should You Be?
How concerned you should be about the risk of contracting cyclosporiasis may depend on where you live. Although headlines may lead you to believe that the entire country is awash with illnesses, a look at the numbers shows that’s not the case.
Clearly, there’s a concerning issue in the five states where the majority of cases are clustered. And a few other states, such as New York and Illinois, are reporting higher-than-average case numbers for this time of year. However, it is unclear whether these infections are linked to the outbreak in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana; are part of an unrelated outbreak of unknown origin; or merely reflect the typical increase in illnesses caused by cyclospora seen during the summer months.
What Foods Are Responsible?
Federal investigators have linked shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana to the surge in cases seen in those states.
In an advisory notice posted July 16, federal officials advised consumers to not eat “food items with shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia,” and said that additional states may be added to the warning list as more information becomes available. The CDC has linked 1,644 infections and 94 hospitalizations to exposure to Taco Bell in those states so far
The imported lettuce was reportedly supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms, a multinational producer of salad greens. The FDA, which has not publicly named Taylor Farms as the supplier, said it is working with the “identified supplier to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market,” and is actively investigating the scope of the contamination.
“Because the investigation remains ongoing, additional implicated brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels may be identified as the investigation continues,” the FDA said in an advisory notice. The agency also said the “illnesses included in this outbreak are a subset of the Cyclospora illnesses identified nationwide.”
Previous cyclosporiasis outbreaks have been linked to contaminated raspberries, fresh imported herbs like basil and cilantro, bagged salad mixes, and romaine lettuce. A 2020 analysis of over three dozen major outbreaks associated with fresh produce consumption found that 65 percent were caused by contaminated basil or raspberries. “Basil has been implicated in many cyclosporiasis outbreaks that have occurred mainly in the USA and Canada, while Guatemalan raspberries have also been indicated as the causative agent of many reported outbreaks,” the study authors wrote in the scientific journal Foods. “In addition, contaminated cilantro and lettuce have caused a significant number of cyclosporiasis infections worldwide.”
Is Produce From a Home Garden or Farmers Market Safer Than What’s at the Supermarket?
Depending on where you live, produce from locald agriculture (CSA) program, may be a less risky option.
Federal investigators have linked the outbreak in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana to a single supplier of shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico. Though neither the CDC nor the FDA has publicly identified the supplier, it is reportedly multinational salad greens purveyor Taylor Farms. The FDA has said that it is working with the identified supplier to “determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market.”
Until we know where the contaminated lettuce was and was not distributed, and whether any other contaminated produce items have contributed to the uptick in cases seen nationwide, we can’t say that any particular for all people. But what we know about how the parasite that causes cyclosporiasis spreads can point us to some general guidelines
The parasite is somewhat unusual in that it is unlikely to be transmitted directly from one person to another, and must spend time in certain environmental conditions to become infectious. It is typically transmitted when the feces of infected humans contaminates crops during growing or processing.
Large outbreaks of cyclosporiasis, like the one currently under investigation in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, typically occur when a contaminated produce item has been widely distributed to a large group of people across multiple states, which is not the typical distribution pattern for crops grown by small-scale local farmers
“So long as you’re confident that what’s growing in your home garden hasn’t been in contact with infected human feces or wastewater, it’s probably safe from cyclospora,” says CR’s Rogers
What Steps Should You Take to Protect Against Cyclospora?
Federal officials are advising people to avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. No otherors have said that the illnesses reported in those states are “a subset of the cyclospora illnesses identified nationwide.”
Generally speaking, following basic food safety rules can go a long way toward protecting you. The CDC and FDA recommend that everyone wash their hands with soap and water before and after preparing raw fruits and vegetables. You should also wash fruits and vegetables (even those labeled as prewashed) thoroughly under running water before eating, and scrub firmer foods, like melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush. Do this before you slice into the food to avoid transferring any outside contaminants to the inside flesh.
“It is important to wash fresh produce, and so I think that’s been shown to be very helpful in lowering the risk of this parasite,”Donald Prater, FDA’s Acting Deputy Commissioner for Food, said in the July 14 press conference
It’s worth noting that cyclospora appears to be more difficult to remove from some foods than other parasites. A small-scale study published in 2021 compared the efficacy of three washing methods in removing parasites from raspberries and blueberries. While rinsing raspberries in a strainer under a gentle stream of cold tap water for one minute was enough to remove, on average, at least 80 percent of the other two parasites studied, the removal rate for cyclospora ranged from 11 to 69 percent, according to the study. Washing the raspberries with a mixture of vinegar and tap water offered some improvement, but still left a notable amount of the parasite present on the fruit. The most effective method involved washing the berries before rinsing them in a salad spinner, but even this failed to remove all the parasites.
Still, says CR’s Rogers, removing some cyclospora from a contaminated item can be beneficial. It can reduce the risk of getting sick, or result in less severe illness if you do
What About People in Affected Areas?
CR’s food safety experts recommend that people in the states where cyclosporiasis has been detected wash their hands and foods the best they can, and avoid prechopped raw fruits and vegetables. “Stay away from the prechopped, prebagged, and all the rest of that,” Rogers says. “Instead, buy them whole and chop them yourself while practicing good sanitary hygiene in your kitchen.”
For those living in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana, Rogers suggests avoiding eating lettuce and other salad greens until more information is available about where the contaminated product was distributed. “If I were in Michigan, I would personally avoid eating lettuce until more information became available,” he says
People in affected areas who are immunocompromised or are more susceptible to severe illness from foodborne contaminants, such as young kids and older adults, might want to take additional precautions, like eating their fruits and veggies cooked. (Pregnant people may also want to consult with their doctor to determine whether they should take additional precautions, as the antibiotic used to treat cyclosporiasis has been linked to a higher risk of birth defects, in some cases, when taken during pregnancy.) Heating food to 158° F kills the cyclospora parasite. “I’m advising my friends and family with compromised immune systems to avoid uncooked vegetables for the time being, but I tend to err on the side of caution,” Rogers says.
Paris Martineau
