US health authorities have confirmed that Taco Bell restaurants served lettuce contaminated with the parasite Cyclospora, linking the chain to a nationwide outbreak of diarrhoeal illness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traced the contamination to lettuce sourced from Mexico and served at Taco Bell branches in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, prompting a warning against eating shredded iceberg lettuce at those locations. The confirmation is significant given the scale of the outbreak, which has produced a record number of cases across dozens of US states.

The illness, cyclosporiasis, typically causes watery and sometimes explosive diarrhoea, though it is rarely life-threatening and can be treated with antibiotics. A record number of cases have now been reported across 31 states, and while experts believe multiple sources may be involved, the Food and Drug Administration has identified Taylor Farms of Salinas, California, as a supplier, a company previously linked to a 2013 Cyclospora outbreak and a 2024 E. coli outbreak involving McDonald's onions. Taco Bell says it has voluntarily removed the ingredient at affected restaurants and will stop using lettuce from the identified supplier, while officials caution that other brands or retailers could yet be implicated, noting Taylor Farms products are also sold through Target, Whole Foods, Walmart and Amazon Fresh.