The 2026 US cyclospora outbreak, the largest on record

In mid-July the FDA opened an investigation into iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell, which pulled lettuce from some stores,^[4] and Taylor Farms said it was removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from Taylor Farms de Mexico.^[5] A lettuce sample first reported as positive turned out to be a false positive, but the FDA kept its focus on the supplier.^[13] A Texas Army veteran sued Taco Bell, saying a meal in Ohio had put him in the hospital.^[14] National case counts more than doubled in a week, to more than 4,100 in 41 states,^[15] and about 1 in every 1,000 people in Michigan was infected.^[1] Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the outbreak was "under control,"^[3] a claim former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb disputed,^[16] and an FDA official insisted that "the U.S. food supply is safe."^[17]

In early August Michigan reported the first two deaths, both in people with underlying health conditions.^[7] Federal officials linked cases in 15 states to iceberg lettuce, out of at least 47 states that had reported cyclospora that year,^[18] while other clusters with no identified source kept growing.^[19][20] Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote to Kennedy demanding answers about what she called a "calamitous" response.^[21] The outbreak followed cuts to funding for state and local health departments,^[22] and the AP reported that US regulators had been conducting fewer inspections of imported produce.^[23] The CDC declared the outbreak over in September, and the FDA later reported finding cyclospora at the Mexican farm.^[6][8]