Cyclospora outbreak map: Don’t eat shredded lettuce at Taco Bell in these states, CDC warns

There’s been a new update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak affecting people in five states. Now, the agency is warning people to avoid a specific ingredient in Taco Bell products in those states. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s happened?

As Fast Company previously reported, in early July, health officials began warning the public about a growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis, an illness usually caused by food parasites. The illness can lead to bouts of explosive diarrhea.

According to the latest CDC data, that outbreak has now sickened 1,644 individuals in five states as of July 16. 94 of those individuals have required hospitalization.

The CDC has also published an interactive map showing where the 1,644 people who were sickened lived.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Taco Bell has begun removing certain ingredients from some of its stores in multiple states. Now, the CDC is explicitly warning individuals to avoid a specific ingredient at select Taco Bell locations, based on the belief that it is linked to the Cyclospora outbreak.

What Taco Bell ingredient is the CDC warning about?

According to the CDC, customers should avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell stores in certain states.

“Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell locations,” the agency warns. The states in which the CDC says you should avoid eating shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell stores include:

Indiana
Kentucky
Michigan
Ohio
West Virginia

In an Investigation Update, the agency confirmed that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) traceback methods have “identified a single supplier of shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by the Taco Bell locations where sick people ate before becoming ill.”

However, the CDC adds that “Not all Taco Bell locations in these states received shredded iceberg lettuce from the same supplier.”

The agency also says that the Mexican fast food chain “has committed to stop using any lettuce from the supplier identified by FDA’s traceback investigation.”

Fast Company has reached out to Taco Bell for comment.

So, if I avoid Taco Bell, am I safe from the outbreak?

Unfortunately, that can’t be guaranteed.

The CDC says the Food and Drug Administration is working with the lettuce supplier to determine whether any potentially contaminated product remains on the market.