Massive lettuce-linked outbreak expands to 3 more states with over 11,000 illnesses
The FDA now reports 11,458 illnesses across 20 states, with contaminated produce from Taylor Farms de Mexico as the source
Cyclospora outbreak hits salad industry’s bottom line
The Marzetti Company President and CEO Dave Ciesinski discusses how the cyclospora outbreak has affected the salad mix and dressing business and inflation on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
The massive cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce and thousands of illnesses has expanded to three new states, federal health regulators announced Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the outbreak, which has been linked to hundreds of hospitalizations and two deaths since illnesses were first reported in July, has now been detected in Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.
There have now been 11,458 illnesses reported across 20 states, according to the FDA.
The FDA added the three new states to the outbreak list Thursday, one week after its previous update.
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A massive cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce has sickened more than 11,000 people across 20 states, according to the FDA. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Health authorities have traced the multistate outbreak to contaminated iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico to Taco Bell restaurants.
The cyclosporiasis outbreak — one of the largest foodborne illness events in recent U.S. history — has also rippled through the food industry, changing how some Americans shop for fresh produce.
Dave Ciesinski, president and CEO of The Marzetti Company, which owns and operates a range of popular retail food brands, including refrigerated salad dressings, recently told FOX Business that the outbreak isn't just hurting lettuce sales but also affecting how Americans shop and eat.
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Packages of Taylor Farms salad greens are displayed at a Safeway store in Kings Beach, California, on July 16, 2026. The company says it has voluntarily removed iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico while federal officials continue investigatin (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Sales of leafy greens tumbled as much as 30% at the beginning of the outbreak, he said, while vegetable sales fell roughly 16% to 17%, with fruit also declining.
"Suffice it to say, they're changing their behavior," Ciesinski said of consumers on "The Claman Countdown."
Michigan has been the hardest-hit state in the outbreak and has reported two related deaths. Both people had significant underlying health conditions, according to health officials.
Cyclospora is a single-celled parasite that can cause stomach cramps, nausea, fatigue, weight loss and other health problems, though some infected people remain asymptomatic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Health authorities have linked a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak to contaminated iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms de Mexico. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The CDC said symptoms typically begin about one week after infection and can last anywhere from a few days to a month. Symptoms can also appear to go away before returning one or more times.
Fox News Digital's James Cirrone contributed to this report.