North Carolina included in Taylor Farms lettuce recall shipped to 27 states over cyclospora risk

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — Taylor Farms has expanded a voluntary recall to include North Carolina for iceberg lettuce products sourced from central Mexico over a potential link to the multistate cyclospora outbreak that has sickened hundreds in the Raleigh area and others across the United States.

At least 307 cases have been reported across North Carolina, with Wake County reporting 270 of those, as of Friday.

Products with the potential to be contaminated with the diarrhea-causing parasite were shipped between June 29 and July 16 to 27 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Jersey, the California-based company said in a statement Friday.

States around North Carolina included in the expanded recall include Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, with a full list of states available here.

The company also has a complete list of products and brands, along with package sizes and product dates, that are being recalled on the FDA website.

Some of the Taylor Fresh Foods lettuce was sold at Walmart stores under the Marketside brand, but North Carolina is not listed among those stores. 

“We are actively removing the implicated products,” the statement said, adding that the company has stopped sourcing lettuce from an implicated lot in central Mexico.

U.S. health officials earlier this week identified lettuce from a supplier in Mexico as a source of cyclospora contamination in food served at Taco Bell restaurants in five Midwestern states.

The Taylor Farms recall announcement listed 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes. Taylor Farms did not respond to an emailed request for the full names of those brands or retailers. The recalled products were shipped as recently as Thursday and have “best by” dates as late as Aug. 3.

Sysco, the nation’s largest food distributor, has halted distribution of all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce products sourced from Mexico and instructed customers to destroy them.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC.

In 2026, cyclospora has sickened at least 1,645 people in the U.S. and hospitalized 141, according to the CDC, which is investigating more than 5,000 additional illnesses that may be linked to the parasite. This time last year, only 249 cases had been reported.

The CDC initially warned consumers to avoid eating shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

“Taco Bell worked swiftly to voluntarily remove the product from restaurants and the affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide,” the company said in a statement Friday.