Fruit and vegetable producer Taylor Fresh Foods is voluntarily pulling all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market after a cyclosporiasis outbreak sickened more than 1,600 people across the country.
According to a recall notice from the Food and Drug Administration issued Saturday, the shredded lettuce was sold in 27 states between June 29 and July 16. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In the recall notice, the company said: "We are actively removing the implicated products. The company has stopped receiving product from the implicated lot, suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, notified our customers, and we are continuing to work with the FDA, CDC, and state authorities."
The recall includes Marketside-brand products sold at some Walmart locations, as well as products distributed to food service customers.
The CDC said as of Friday that the multistate outbreak is linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at some Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. The FDA said its traceback investigation identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used at those Taco Bell locations.
In a statement, Taco Bell said it had taken "immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states" following "ongoing conversations with public health officials." The statement also read in part: "We believe public health is a shared responsibility among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are proud to have consistently acted quickly and proactively to protect our guests."
As of Friday, there have been more than 1,644 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis across the country, with 94 hospitalizations and no reported deaths. The CDC and FDA said they are also investigating other cyclosporiasis illnesses that may be unrelated to the Taco Bell supply chain, in collaboration with state and local partners.
Cyclosporiasis cases occur every year, but this year has seen more reported cases than usual. The Guardian reported that public health cuts under the Trump administration have hampered the response to what is shaping up to be a record outbreak.
Taylor Fresh Foods said in a statement to ABC News that while the FDA traceback is pointing to a specific independent farm representing less than one percent of the U.S. iceberg lettuce supply as the potential source of the outbreak, the company is continuing to cooperate with investigators. The Wall Street Journal reported that the supplier identified is a global salad industry giant with operations stretching well beyond the United States.