Taco Bell Pulls Lettuce After 1,600 Illnesses Tied to Outbreak, Taylor Farms Suspected
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jul 23
Taco Bell Pulls Lettuce After 1,600 Illnesses Tied to Outbreak, Taylor Farms Suspected
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jul 23
Summary
July 16 marked Taco Bell’s immediate removal of potentially affected lettuce after health officials linked more than 1,600 Cyclosporiasis cases to meals eaten at the chain.
Taylor Farms lettuce was flagged days earlier as a suspected source, prompting executives to reroute trucks, discard cases and coordinate franchisees from Taco Bell’s Irvine headquarters.
The outbreak has produced more than 4,100 confirmed and 7,400 unconfirmed U.S. cases since May, spanning Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
Taylor Farms later pulled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, though officials said a reported positive test on one lettuce sample was ultimately a false positive.
Taco Bell’s cleanup effort has not fully contained the fallout: Placer.ai showed July 17 foot traffic down 30.9%, while about half of online discussion this week was negative.