Taylor Farms pulls iceberg lettuce linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak

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Taylor Farms connected Friday said it is "voluntarily removing" iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico aft it was linked to 1 of the largest U.S. outbreaks of cyclosporiasis in the U.S. successful caller years.

"While the FDA traceback is indicating a circumstantial autarkic farm, which represents little than 1% of the U.S.'s iceberg lettuce supply, arsenic the imaginable root of the outbreak, we person removed each iceberg lettuce from the portion indefinitely," the institution said successful a statement.

Taylor Farms said nary of its branded salads oregon kits incorporate iceberg lettuce oregon are associated with this outbreak.

On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified lettuce supplied to prime Taco Bell restaurants arsenic the root of the multistate outbreak, much than a period aft cases archetypal began to appear.

A root acquainted with the probe told CBS News connected Thursday that the supplier was Salinas, California-based Taylor Farms. The iceberg lettuce was distributed to Taco Bell restaurants successful Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, according to the CDC.

No different merchandise recalls person been issued astir the outbreak, and a traceback probe by the Food and Drug Administration recovered the Taylor Farms lettuce to beryllium the sole root of the illnesses.

Taco Bell told CBS News successful a connection Friday day that it had already removed the perchance contaminated lettuce it received from Taylor Farms from restaurants successful prime states "out of an abundance of caution."

"While nary authoritative advisory has been issued, we judge nationalist wellness is simply a shared work among restaurants, their suppliers, and authorities, and we are arrogant to person consistently acted rapidly and proactively to support our guests," a spokesperson for Taco Bell Corp. said. "Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we promote each applicable restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to bash the same."

The outbreak, archetypal reported successful May, has dispersed to 34 states, sickening astatine slightest 1,644 people, according to the CDC. However, the CDC's tally lags down authorities wellness departments, which person reported overmuch larger numbers of cases. For instance, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported more than 5,000 confirmed cases arsenic of Friday.

No deaths person been reported.

What is cyclosporiasis?

The food- and water-borne unwellness cyclosporiasis is caused by the cyclospora parasite, which causes long-lasting, watery and sometimes explosive diarrhea, according to nationalist wellness experts.

Outbreaks typically hap successful the precocious outpouring and summer, and person historically been linked to bagged salads, cilantro, basil, raspberries, snowfall peas and greenish onions.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

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