Overview:
Federal investigators have said a single lettuce supplier, Taylor Farms — a politically connected produce giant based in California — is behind an outbreak that has sickened thousands of Americans across more than 30 states.
Americans generally don’t think much about the Food and Drug Administration until something they ate sends them running to the bathroom.
That’s exactly what has happened this summer. But as thousands of people across more than 30 states report weeks — yes, weeks — of “explosive diarrhea” from a cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce, the investigation is testing whether the nation’s food safety system still deserves the public’s confidence.
Federal investigators have said a single lettuce supplier, Taylor Farms based in California, is behind an outbreak that has sickened thousands of Americans across more than 30 states. On Wednesday, the FDA announced it is investigating another outbreak of 72 cyclosporiasis cases from an unknown source.
But the story keeps taking new turns.
Although the FDA cited a Taylor Farms facility in Mexico as the source of the outbreak, the agency later walked back its conclusion. The move raised eyebrows among industry experts, whose concerns have grown since the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, fired thousands of FDA food safety inspectors.
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These concerns are compounded by the staff reductions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, the agency scaled back FoodNet, its federal-state monitoring program. It also dropped the tracking of cyclospora and five other pathogens to focus only on Salmonella and E. coli across the program’s 10 participating states (those states can still track them voluntarily.)
But Taylor Farms, one of the largest fresh-cut produce and prepared-food suppliers in North America, has been down this road before. The company has been involved in five FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture recalls between 2017 and 2024 –including a 2024 recall of E.coli-tainted onions that ended up on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers.
The recent headlines have put scrutiny on the political activity of Bruce Taylor, founder and CEO of Taylor Farms. A public database of campaign contributions shows Taylor has donated generously to Republicans, including a PAC that supports President Donald Trump.
To date, more than 7,000 cases have been confirmed or are under investigation nationwide. Michigan and Ohio have the highest case count so far. Health officials in both states say they’re still investigating and can’t yet rule out other food sources.
Tracing the outbreak, however, has been slow going, in part because symptoms typically don’t appear until days after contaminated food is consumed.
Cyclospora, the parasite behind the discomfort, spreads when people eat contaminated food. Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite and fatigue, and can last for weeks. The outbreak, which typically occurs around this time of year, has led to scores of hospitalizations, and experts say cases are expected to keep climbing into August.
“This is much, much higher than what we’ve seen last year or the year before,” said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, according to reporting by Civil Eats.
Most recalls start one of two ways: either a company’s own testing turns up a pathogen, or people get sick and health officials trace the illness back to a product. “The other way recalls happen is when people eat food and get sick. That part of the recall process is kind of — I always call it the canary in the coal mine,” Bill Marler, a food safety expert and product liability attorney, told Word In Black. “It is difficult sometimes to figure out outbreaks. It’s less difficult today than it was 30 years ago, but it’s still difficult.”
It’s never a good sign, he said, when people getting sick is the first sign that contaminated food is lurking in the system.
How Lettuce Became Political
Investigators link the current outbreak to Taylor Farms’s iceberg lettuce processed at its facility in central Mexico. The lettuce ended up as an ingredient in food prepared at Taco Bell fast-food restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
Taylor Farms recalled the lettuce tied to the outbreak on July 17, and Taco Bell pulled it from its restaurants nationwide that same day.
In a statement, Taco Bell said it is having “ongoing conversations with public health officials” about the outbreaks and is cooperating with government investigators. The fast-food chain also said it has removed all Taylor Farms lettuce from its restaurants and supply chain “out of an abundance of caution.”
Taylor Farms also said it is working with food safety officials to pinpoint the source of the cyclospora.
Taylor Farms is family-owned and doesn’t sell directly to consumers, but its products reach shoppers through Costco, Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Whole Foods and other major retailers, restaurants, and online sellers. The list of recalled products, including identifying lot codes and use-by dates, is on the company’s website.
The FDA’s about-face
In tracking the current outbreak, the FDA had initially reported that a Taylor Farms lettuce sample had tested positive for Cyclospora. But after further lab review, the agency walked back that conclusion, calling it a false positive “due to the complexity in detection of Cyclospora.”
The FDA stressed that the agency is still advising people to avoid Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce grown or processed in Mexico. The CDC continues to warn consumers about the recalled products.
Taylor Farms saw the FDA’s reversal as vindication.
In a statement, the company said the FDA had “apologized” and emphasized that the government investigation “has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.”
Nevertheless, Taylor Farms has not withdrawn its recall and says it will keep working with federal health officials.
The situation has brought criticism from food-safety observers who note that outbreak investigations routinely rely on epidemiological patterns, not just lab-confirmed contamination, to identify a source.
Food safety experts warn the Trump administration’s changes could slow the country’s ability to catch and respond to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses like this one — and high-risk products like leafy greens, sprouts and pre-cut produce are exactly the categories most prone to recurring contamination.
Why recalls like this keep happening
Food safety advocates say the bigger issue is how recalls get triggered in the first place — and how staff and budget cuts have thinned out the government’s food safety network.
Marler says it’s “difficult sometimes” to figure out outbreaks, and having a patchwork food regulatory system doesn’t help.
“We essentially have 51 departments of health in this country, and states are more on top of stuff than other states,” Marler said. “But when you have a nationwide outbreak, the information you’re getting is only as good as the information gathering.”
Food safety experts warn the staffing cuts at the CDC, the FDA and other agencies that track foodborne pathogens could slow the country’s ability to catch and respond to outbreaks of illnesses in high-risk products like leafy greens, sprouts and pre-cut produce.
Experts say the underlying issue is staffing: the FDA simply doesn’t have enough inspectors to catch contamination before food reaches restaurants and store shelves.
Political Money Complicates Matters
The dust-up over the false positive has fueled scrutiny of Taylor Farms’ political donations.
According to reports, the company and entities associated with it have donated more than $3.8 million to conservative-aligned groups this decade. That includes $1 million donated to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which backs Republican House candidates, and $1 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting President Trump.
Taylor, the company’s founder, has personally donated more than $1 million to Republican-aligned PACs over the past two decades, including a reported $400,000 between 2025 and 2026.
There are also reports that Taylor visited the White House shortly before the FDA’s reversal. That prompted questions about whether the donations or the visit played any role in the agency’s investigation.
The Trump administration has denied any connection, and called suggestions of collusion “fake news.”
