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Home » 2026 Cyclospora Outbreak Tracker: Taco Bell & Taylor Farms Lettuce, Cases, Deaths & What to Do

2026 Cyclospora Outbreak Tracker: Taco Bell & Taylor Farms Lettuce, Cases, Deaths & What to Do

Last updated: October 3, 2026. Figures below are as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state health departments, and are updated as new information is confirmed.

A large, multi-state outbreak of Cyclospora (cyclosporiasis) has spread across the United States during the summer of 2026. Investigators have linked the illnesses to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de México — served at Taco Bell and sold at retail — and the lettuce has been recalled. The CDC declared the outbreak over on September 11, 2026, with a final total of 12,883 illnesses across 21 states, at least 570 hospitalizations and two deaths (both in Michigan). This page is a record of what is known — the case counts, the states affected, the recall, the state of the evidence, and what to do if you or a family member became ill. For our latest day-to-day reporting, see the recent coverage below.

Where the investigation stands — updated October 3, 2026

  • The outbreak is over, and the FDA has concluded its outbreak investigation. On September 11, 2026 the CDC declared this outbreak ended and published its final update on the investigation, reporting a total of 12,883 illnesses across 21 states, at least 570 hospitalizations and two deaths. On October 2, 2026 the FDA said it has concluded its outbreak investigation, and that there is currently not enough evidence to conclusively determine how contamination occurred in this outbreak. The FDA says it has moved to post-outbreak response work, including continuing its investigation into the root cause of the outbreak, and plans to publish an Outbreak Investigation Report that will review the potential factors contributing to the contamination.
  • The CDC has reported two deaths. Both were in Michigan, in people with underlying health conditions, and the CDC now includes them in its outbreak figures.
  • The lettuce was recalled, and the FDA says it is confident all of it is off the market. Taylor Farms de México recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, from both foodservice and retail, on July 17, 2026, and the FDA says it is confident that all of the recalled lettuce linked to this outbreak is off the market.
  • The CDC’s final update says the lettuce made people sick. In its September 11, 2026 final update, the CDC said epidemiologic and traceback data showed that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de México was contaminated with Cyclospora and made people sick. The FDA traced the lettuce served at Taco Bell back to that single supplier, and Michigan’s ingredient-level analysis of 190 cases who ate at Taco Bell found that 90% of those interviewed reported eating iceberg lettuce.
  • No food sample has tested positive; the one reported positive was withdrawn. On July 19 the FDA announced that a Cyclospora-positive sample — collected at the border — was a false positive that “does not represent true amplification,” and on July 24 the FDA said the false positive did not change the basis for its investigation. No product sample has tested positive for Cyclospora.
  • The FDA found Cyclospora in the environment where the lettuce was grown and processed. In its October 2, 2026 update, the FDA said it sampled water, soil, sediment and iceberg lettuce during its inspections in Mexico, and that two samples, both environmental, were positive for Cyclospora: one from a tank that held outgoing wastewater from the Taylor Farms de México processing facility, and one from a drainage ditch of an iceberg lettuce grower identified in the FDA’s traceback investigation. The FDA said these samples show that Cyclospora was present in the environment where lettuce was grown and processed, and that this adds to the strong epidemiological data and traceback convergence supporting the link between the outbreak and the recalled lettuce. Genotyping of both samples is complete, and the FDA said it is continuing to analyze how the results relate to genotyping of samples from patients.

In short: the case against the lettuce rests on traceback and patient interviews, supported by the FDA’s environmental findings in Mexico — not on a laboratory finding in the food itself. That is not unusual for this parasite — see why Cyclospora is so hard to detect in food.

The recall: what was pulled, and what to do

Taylor Farms de México recalled, on July 17, 2026, all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. The recalled product was distributed to 31 states.

  • At retail, the brand is Marketside, sold at Walmart: Marketside Iceberg Salad in 12-ounce and 24-ounce bags, and Shredded Lettuce in 8-ounce and 16-ounce bags.
  • Best-if-used-by dates: July 18, 2026 through August 3, 2026.
  • Foodservice products are listed separately in the recall notice, linked from the FDA’s outbreak page.
  • States the recalled product reached: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The FDA notes distribution may have reached further.

If you still have any: the best-by dates for the recalled lettuce have passed, and the FDA says it should no longer be available in stores or restaurants. Do not eat it; throw it away, and, as the FDA advises, carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers it touched. If you became ill after eating it, see what to do if you think you have Cyclospora.

2026 Cyclospora outbreak, by the numbers

The outbreak linked to the lettuce

  • At least 12,883 people infected with Cyclospora across 21 states. The outbreak included people who reported eating at Taco Bell or eating the recalled Taylor Farms de México iceberg lettuce from other sources. One further state — Virginia — was added in the CDC’s September 11, 2026 final update.
  • At least 570 hospitalizations.
  • Two deaths — both in Michigan, in people with underlying health conditions — which the CDC has attributed to this outbreak.
  • Illnesses began on June 14, 2026 and onset dates continued through August 17, 2026, the most recent onset the CDC reported.

The broader 2026 Cyclospora season

  • The CDC says this lettuce outbreak has contributed significantly to a sharp increase in Cyclospora cases across the United States this year.
  • During this investigation the CDC said it was also investigating other Cyclospora outbreaks and illnesses unrelated to this one — more than one contaminated product is usually circulating during the summer season.
  • Because it can take up to six weeks to confirm that a case is part of the outbreak, and many people recover without being tested, the true number of illnesses is likely higher than the confirmed count.
  • Michigan alone has counted 14,718 cyclosporiasis cases. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 14,718 cases and 366 hospitalizations in Michigan as of September 3, 2026, along with the two deaths. That is more than the entire national confirmed count, because the two agencies are not counting the same thing: MDHHS counts every cyclosporiasis case reported during its outbreak investigation, while the CDC and FDA report only laboratory-confirmed cases they have tied to this outbreak. Both figures are correct — they answer different questions.

Sources: CDC outbreak investigation and Health Alert Network advisory, FDA, and state health departments, as of the CDC’s September 11, 2026 final update and the FDA’s October 2, 2026 update. Confirmed counts lag real illness because Cyclospora requires a specific laboratory test that is not part of a standard stool panel — see what to do if you are sick.

Why a negative test doesn’t clear the lettuce

It is tempting to read “no positive food sample” as “the food was fine.” With this parasite, that inference does not hold. Detecting Cyclospora in food is far harder than detecting bacteria:

  • The parasite is present in very small numbers, so samples have to be enormous to catch it.
  • Cyclospora cannot be grown in a lab — it needs a human host to reproduce, so scientists cannot culture it to confirm a find.
  • The oocysts lodge in crevices on the surface of produce and are difficult to wash off for testing.
  • Many detection methods cannot tell whether a recovered parasite was still capable of causing illness, and whole genome sequencing — the gold standard for bacteria — cannot currently be used on this parasite.

By the time an outbreak is recognized, the implicated food has usually been eaten or thrown out. That is why investigators lean on traceback records and patient interviews, which is exactly the evidence pointing at this lettuce. For more, see our explainer on why Cyclospora is so hard to kill and detect.

Who counts as part of this outbreak

In August the CDC broadened how it defined this outbreak. At first it counted only people who had eaten at Taco Bell; from then on it also counted people who ate the recalled Taylor Farms de México iceberg lettuce from other sources. That is why the count jumped to 6,358 in the CDC’s August 5 update — it rose to a final 12,883 — and why six new states were added at once.

The practical consequence: eating at Taco Bell is not the only way to have been exposed. The same recalled lettuce reached retail (sold as Marketside at Walmart) and other foodservice customers. If you ate iceberg lettuce — at a restaurant or from a store — during the outbreak window and developed symptoms, you may be part of this outbreak.

Cyclosporiasis is also seasonal, and during this investigation the CDC said it was also investigating other Cyclospora outbreaks and illnesses that were not linked to this lettuce. A summer Cyclospora illness is therefore not automatically part of this outbreak — a laboratory test is what connects an individual case. The FDA’s CORE outbreak table has listed several separate Cyclospora investigations at once.

Timeline of the 2026 outbreak

  • Mid-June 2026 — A new Cyclospora cluster is added to the FDA’s CORE outbreak table, signaling an active federal investigation.
  • Late June 2026 — The CDC’s national cyclosporiasis surveillance — a seasonal count of domestically acquired illnesses that runs May 1 through August 31 every year, separate from any single outbreak — reaches 145 domestically acquired cases across 17 states, with illness onsets from May 1 to June 6 and 20 hospitalizations. Those cases are not this outbreak and involve a largely different set of states; the CDC’s current investigation dates this outbreak’s own earliest illnesses to June 14, 2026.
  • Early July 2026 — Michigan’s case count reaches 572 and keeps climbing.
  • July 9, 2026 — Taco Bell pulls fresh produce, including lettuce, from restaurants in the affected states.
  • July 14, 2026 — The CDC issues a Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory, reporting 1,645 confirmed and 5,100+ probable cases nationwide.
  • July 16–17, 2026 — The CDC links shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell to a five-state outbreak; the FDA traces it to a single central-Mexico supplier and Taylor Farms de México issues a recall.
  • July 19–20, 2026 — The FDA declares the one positive sample a false positive. The recall stands, and the traceback and patient-interview evidence still points to the lettuce.
  • July 24, 2026 — The outbreak expands from five states to nine, and the case count rises to 1,947 with 98 hospitalizations.
  • July 28, 2026 — A member of Congress formally questions Taylor Farms about the outbreak, and North Carolina reports a separate cluster linked to parsley and cilantro.
  • July 30, 2026 — The CDC’s combined confirmed-and-possible count passes 18,000 (6,707 laboratory-confirmed), and six separate Cyclospora investigations are on the FDA’s CORE outbreak table at once.
  • August 3, 2026 — The CDC reports the outbreak’s first two deaths, both in Michigan and in people with underlying health conditions.
  • August 5, 2026 — The CDC broadens the outbreak to include people who ate the recalled Taylor Farms de México lettuce, not only Taco Bell diners; the count rises to 6,358 illnesses across 15 states (six states added), with 278 hospitalizations, and onset dates now extend to July 31.
  • August 6, 2026 — Michigan lifts its bagged-salad advisory. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services tells residents they may resume routine guidance for lettuce and salad greens, saying its broad precautionary recommendation to avoid bagged salad mixes is “no longer in effect” as new case reports and diarrhea-related emergency department visits decline. Michigan’s outbreak total stands at 12,485 cases. The national Taylor Farms de México recall remains in effect, and the CDC and FDA investigations remain open.
  • August 13, 2026 — The national count rises to 9,481 cases in 17 states, and Michigan’s weekly update raises the state total to 13,909 cases and 314 hospitalizations. In its Thursday refresh, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 13,909 cyclosporiasis cases and 314 hospitalizations among Michigan residents, still with two deaths. In updates stamped the same day, the CDC and FDA raised the national count to 9,481 illnesses across 17 states — adding Maine and Massachusetts — with 398 hospitalizations and still two deaths, and extended the onset range through August 3, 2026. Both agencies’ investigations remain open.
  • August 20, 2026 — The national count rises to 10,930 cases and 454 hospitalizations, and Michigan’s weekly update raises the state total to 14,277 cases and 335 hospitalizations. In its Thursday refresh, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 14,277 cyclosporiasis cases and 335 hospitalizations among Michigan residents, still with two deaths. In updates stamped the same day, the CDC and FDA raised the national count to 10,930 illnesses across 17 states — with no new states added — reporting 454 hospitalizations and still two deaths, and extended the onset range through August 11, 2026. The FDA also said it has begun onsite inspections and sampling at iceberg lettuce growers in Mexico. Both agencies’ investigations remain open.
  • August 27, 2026 — The national count rises to 11,458 cases in 20 states and 495 hospitalizations, and Michigan’s weekly update raises the state total to 14,510 cases and 356 hospitalizations. In updates stamped August 27, the CDC and FDA raised the national count to 11,458 illnesses across 20 states — adding Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas — with 495 hospitalizations and still two deaths, and extended the onset range through August 15, 2026. The FDA said its onsite inspections and sampling at iceberg lettuce growers and the processing facility in Mexico, in coordination with Mexican officials, are ongoing. In its weekly refresh, also stamped August 27, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 14,510 cyclosporiasis cases and 356 hospitalizations among Michigan residents, still with two deaths. Both agencies’ investigations remain open.
  • September 3, 2026 — Michigan’s update raises the state total to 14,718 cases and 366 hospitalizations. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported 14,718 cyclosporiasis cases and 366 hospitalizations among Michigan residents as of September 3, 2026, still with two deaths. The national figures were unchanged from the CDC and FDA updates stamped August 27, 2026 — 11,458 illnesses across 20 states with 495 hospitalizations and two deaths. Both agencies’ investigations remain open.
  • September 11, 2026 — The CDC declares the outbreak over and issues its final update: 12,883 cases in 21 states, 570 hospitalizations and two deaths. In its final update on this investigation, the CDC said the outbreak has ended, that recent infections linked to it had declined significantly, and that the contaminated lettuce is no longer available in stores or restaurants. The agency put the final totals at 12,883 illnesses across 21 states — adding Virginia — with at least 570 hospitalizations and still two deaths, both in Michigan, and extended the onset range through August 17, 2026. The CDC said it will not update data on that page after September 11. The FDA marked its advisory Ended the same day and said its onsite inspections and sample collection at iceberg lettuce growers and the processing facility in Mexico have ended, while its investigation into how the product became contaminated remains ongoing.
  • October 2, 2026 — The FDA concludes its outbreak investigation and reports two positive environmental samples from Mexico. The FDA said it has concluded its investigation. Of the samples it collected during its inspections in Mexico, two environmental samples were positive for Cyclospora — one from a tank that held outgoing wastewater from the Taylor Farms de México processing facility, and one from a drainage ditch of an iceberg lettuce grower identified in the FDA’s traceback investigation. The FDA said there is currently not enough evidence to conclusively determine how contamination occurred, but that the positive samples show Cyclospora was present in the environment where lettuce was grown and processed, and that it has moved to post-outbreak work, including continuing its investigation into the root cause of the outbreak. The final case figures were unchanged.

Symptoms & what to do if you think you have Cyclospora

Cyclosporiasis characteristically causes watery diarrhea that comes and goes, often with loss of appetite, significant weight loss, cramping, bloating, nausea, and fatigue. Symptoms usually begin two days to two weeks after exposure. Untreated, they can last weeks to more than a month and may relapse — which is what sets it apart from most short-lived food poisoning.

  1. See a doctor and ask specifically for a Cyclospora test. Cyclospora is not found on a standard stool test; a lab must run a specific test (a special stain or molecular/PCR panel), and physicians often have to request it by name.
  2. The standard treatment is an antibiotic (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, sold as Bactrim or Septra). People with a sulfa allergy have limited alternatives. Follow the guidance of a licensed medical provider — this page is information, not medical advice. See the CDC’s Cyclospora overview.
  3. Naming the supplier does not narrow who may be responsible. Taylor Farms de México is the supplier the FDA’s traceback investigation converged on, and it is the primary target, but the restaurants and retailers that served or sold the contaminated lettuce are not cleared by that finding and can retain legal responsibility of their own. A cyclospora lawyer can work out which of those applies to you from your purchase and medical records.
  4. Preserve evidence if you may have a claim: keep your positive test result and medical records, receipts, loyalty-app purchase histories, and any leftover food packaging, and write down everywhere you ate in the two weeks before you got sick.
  5. Report your illness to your local or state health department — it helps investigators find the source.

Were you or a loved one seriously sickened — or did a family lose someone — in the 2026 Cyclospora outbreak?

Pritzker Hageman is a national food-safety law firm that represents people seriously sickened — and families of those who died — in foodborne-illness outbreaks like this one. Hundreds of millions recovered. No fee unless we win.

Talk to a Cyclospora lawyer — free case review ›

Our latest Cyclospora coverage

Frequently asked questions

Has anyone died in the 2026 Cyclospora outbreak?

Yes. The CDC has reported two cyclosporiasis-related deaths, both in Michigan and both in people with underlying health conditions, as part of this outbreak. Serious cyclosporiasis is uncommon in otherwise healthy adults, but the illness can be dangerous for the very young, the elderly, and people whose health is already compromised.

The FDA said the test was a false positive — does that mean the lettuce was safe?

No. It means no sample of the food has tested positive, which is different from the food being cleared. The link between this lettuce and the outbreak rests on the FDA’s traceback to a single central-Mexico supplier and on patient interviews — including the finding that 90% of interviewed Taco Bell patrons ate iceberg lettuce. In its October 2, 2026 update, the FDA reported that two environmental samples from its inspections in Mexico — one from a tank that held outgoing wastewater from the Taylor Farms de México processing facility and one from a drainage ditch of an iceberg lettuce grower — were positive for Cyclospora, which it said shows the parasite was present in the environment where the lettuce was grown and processed. Cyclospora is notoriously difficult to detect in food, so a negative or withdrawn result is not evidence of safety.

Has the source of the 2026 outbreak been confirmed?

For this outbreak — which spanned 21 states — the CDC’s final update names it: epidemiologic and traceback data showed that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de México — served at Taco Bell and sold at retail — was contaminated with Cyclospora and made people sick. That conclusion rests on traceback and patient interviews, not on a laboratory finding in the food. In its October 2, 2026 update, the FDA said its positive environmental samples from Mexico add to the strong epidemiological data and traceback convergence supporting that link. During the investigation, the CDC also said it was investigating other 2026 Cyclospora outbreaks and illnesses unrelated to this one.

Can I bring a claim if I was sickened after eating at Taco Bell?

Possibly. When a contaminated food is traced to a specific supplier and restaurant, people who were sickened may have a claim against the companies in the supply chain — and a positive test on the food is not required to bring one. A food-safety attorney can review your diagnosis and where you ate, for free.

Does washing or freezing kill Cyclospora?

No. Rinsing produce does not reliably remove the Cyclospora parasite, and freezing does not kill it. Heat does — the parasite is destroyed at about 158°F. That is why outbreaks are traced to a contaminated supply rather than to home handling.

Is Cyclospora contagious from person to person?

No. Cyclospora is not spread directly from one person to another. After it is passed in stool it needs days to weeks in the environment to become infectious, so it spreads through contaminated food or water, not casual contact.

How long do I have to take legal action?

Deadlines (statutes of limitation) vary by state and by the facts of your case, so it is best not to wait. A food-safety attorney can review your situation for free.

Official sources