Taylor Farms Pulls Iceberg Lettuce Nationwide as Cyclospora Outbreak Spreads

Recall hits major restaurant and grocery supply chains as illness count climbs

Food producer Taylor Farms is pulling all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico off the U.S. market after it was linked to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis, the company said Friday, according to The Verge.

The recall reaches deep into the American food supply chain. Taylor Farms told major customers, including Yum Brands' Taco Bell chain and food distributor Sysco, on Thursday to pull shredded lettuce products tied to the outbreak, The Verge reported, citing Reuters.

PBS NewsHour reported Friday that health concerns are mounting as the recall unfolds alongside other public health issues, including wildfire smoke blanketing large parts of the country. Cyclosporiasis is a foodborne illness caused by a parasite that can trigger prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms, and outbreaks tied to produce have periodically forced major recalls across the restaurant and grocery industry.

The episode adds to a history of foodborne illness scares tied to large restaurant chains, which serve enormous volumes of food daily, making even localized contamination capable of sickening large numbers of people quickly once tainted products enter a widely distributed supply chain.

Taylor Farms' move to voluntarily withdraw the product nationwide, rather than in a limited region, signals the scale of the company's exposure and the difficulty of tracing contaminated produce once it has been distributed to national chains.

— Compiled from reporting by The Verge and PBS NewsHour.