SAN DIEGO — Taylor Farms, a Salinas-based produce company whose products are sold throughout Southern California, has voluntarily removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from a farm in central Mexico from the U.S. market after federal investigators linked it to a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis, the company announced Friday.
The company’s products are sold at retailers including Target, Whole Foods, Walmart and Amazon Fresh, according to Taylor Farms’ website. There is no indication that shredded iceberg lettuce believed to be linked to the outbreak was distributed to those retailers.
“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the U.S. iceberg lettuce supply, as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely,” the company said in a statement.
Company officials said no other products are affected and that none of its Taylor Farms-branded salad kits contain iceberg lettuce.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, the outbreak has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.
Taco Bell has voluntarily removed the potentially contaminated lettuce from its supply chain indefinitely.
“Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers and foodservice operators to do the same,” the Irvine-based company said in a statement.
The FDA said it is continuing to work with the supplier to determine whether the contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce was distributed to additional restaurants or retailers.
California health officials said earlier this week that the state is not experiencing an increase in cyclosporiasis cases and that there are no known local outbreaks.
California reported 41 provisional cases from January through June, compared with 80 during the same period in 2025, according to the California Department of Public Health. The annual average from 2015 through 2025 was 106 cases.
“Cases for 2026 are well within expected ranges for California, and we are not currently one of the states experiencing increased cases or an outbreak,” CDPH Director Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement earlier this week.
Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the Cyclospora parasite and is generally spread through food or water contaminated with human feces.
Person-to-person transmission is considered unlikely because the parasite must remain outside the body for at least one to two weeks before becoming infectious, according to the CDPH.
Symptoms can include prolonged watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating, nausea and fatigue.
State health officials encouraged residents to wash their hands before and after handling produce, rinse fruits and vegetables under running water, discard the outer leaves of lettuce and leafy greens, prevent cross-contamination, and promptly refrigerate cut or peeled produce.
