The CDC has issued its final update on a multistate cyclospora outbreak that sickened 12,883 people, hospitalized 570 and killed two across 21 states, according to a Sept. 11 food safety alert.
The agency said the outbreak has ended and the contaminated lettuce is no longer available in stores or restaurants, as all best-by dates on the recalled product have passed. Infections have declined sharply since the outbreak’s peak, when more than 1,000 cases were reported in a single day before the recall; fewer than two infections per day occurred on average in August.
The outbreak was the largest of several cyclospora clusters the FDA and CDC investigated this season. As of Sept. 8, the CDC had confirmed 19,595 cyclosporiasis cases nationwide since May, more than 12,000 of which stemmed from the iceberg lettuce outbreak, according to an FDA update. The FDA traced the contaminated lettuce to Taylor Farms de Mexico by July 17, 2026, prompting a voluntary recall, and has since inspected growers in Mexico and met with Mexican public health and agricultural officials to discuss prevention. The agency’s investigation into the outbreak’s root cause continues, and it plans to send a letter to industry on addressing cyclospora contamination across the supply chain and to update its Cyclospora Prevention, Response and Research Action Plan with lessons learned.
The outbreak traces back to a July 2026 CDC notice linking cases to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in five states, though the FDA briefly retracted its identification of Taylor Farms de Mexico as the source after an initial positive test was found to be a false positive. By late July, the outbreak was among five concurrent cyclospora outbreaks nationally, and food safety experts warned that federal cuts to public health surveillance had made it harder to detect and respond to outbreaks like this one.
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