Taylor Farms Cyclospora Outbreak: FDA Finds Parasite at Mexico Facility and Grower Drainage Ditch

Lettuce grows in a farm field as the FDA investigates a Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms’ Mexico operation (Credit: Michael Heinrich/Pexels)

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has detected Cyclospora in two environmental samples at sites linked to a major iceberg lettuce outbreak that sickened 12,883 people across 21 states, but investigators have not established how the parasite contaminated the produce.

The FDA closed its investigation into the largest known cyclosporiasis outbreak in U.S. history, saying investigators found the parasite in the environment where implicated lettuce was grown in Mexico and where it was processed by Taylor Farms de Mexico. https://t.co/4hW1RCdIQS

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 2, 2026