Chicago Outrage: FDA Unveils Taylor Farms as Source of Taco Bell Lettuce Cyclosporiasis Outbreak

CHICAGO (WLS) — In the heart of Chicago’s Loop, patrons at a local Taco Bell found themselves hesitating about their usual picks as warnings circulated about a cyclosporiasis outbreak. The concern centers on shredded iceberg lettuce, a common ingredient at select Taco Bell locations, now under scrutiny.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration traced the problematic lettuce back to a farm in Mexico. This farm is a supplier for Taylor Farms, responsible for provisioning not just Taco Bell but a variety of other establishments as well.

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Local diner Colten Sheehan, wary of the news, consciously opted out of any meal that included lettuce during his visit on Friday.

“I stayed away from the lettuce,” Sheehan remarked. “Didn’t want to take any chances, so it was fries and burritos for me.”

As another patron, Raniya Evans, recounted, the alert on her social media feed was enough to deter her from ordering altogether.

“Before I ordered, I was on the Taco Bell app, and then I got a notification from Tik Tok, so I just opened Tik Tok,” Evans said. “So I was like I’m not even going to take the chance.”

Illinois Taco Bell locations are not among those in five states where health officials have warned consumers not to eat Taco Bell shredded iceberg lettuce. The states identified are Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

The Food and Drug Administration has identified the lettuce as one potential source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people.

Alonso Zaragoza, who lives in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, said he has been sick for nearly a week and does not know where he contracted the parasite.

“I had all of the symptoms: sweats, chills, the diarrhea, a little bit of vomiting,” Zaragoza said.

Zaragoza said he does not believe he can determine where he became infected.

“I didn’t go to Michigan and eat in a Taco Bell over there, right, and even if I did, it doesn’t mean that that’s where I got it from cuz I went to Michigan on Saturday, you know, to visit some friends, and we didn’t eat over there,” he said.

Taco Bell said in a statement that “The affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide.”

Taylor Farms said it is “voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market” and added that “No other Taylor Fresh Foods products” are affected.

Despite those actions, some consumers remain skeptical.

When asked how confident he was that the company had addressed the issue, one customer responded: “Not too confident.”