Published September 14, 2026
The CDC announced on September 11, 2026 that the multistate Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms de Mexico iceberg lettuce has ended, closing out an outbreak that ultimately sickened 12,883 people across 21 states, including 570 hospitalizations and 2 deaths in Michigan. The agency said new infections had dropped off sharply since the outbreak's peak, with the daily case rate falling from more than 1,000 a day before the July 17, 2026 recall to fewer than 2 a day by August, according to Food Safety News.
The final numbers are well above the 10,930 illnesses across 17 states that had been reported as of the CDC's mid-August update — a reminder that Cyclospora's long incubation period (illness can take one to two weeks to appear after exposure) meant new cases kept surfacing for weeks after the contaminated lettuce was pulled from shelves.
Epidemiologic and product traceback data tied the outbreak to iceberg lettuce grown by Taylor Farms de Mexico, which recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17, 2026. The recalled product is now expired and off shelves, but the FDA says its investigation into what caused the contamination is continuing, alongside a look at several smaller Cyclospora clusters reported over the summer of 2026. In a letter to the produce industry, the FDA reiterated that growers and processors are expected to follow established water-safety, worker-hygiene, and facility-sanitation practices.
An outbreak being declared "over" doesn't close the door on legal claims tied to it — lawsuits over the illnesses it caused, including cases already consolidated into a federal MDL, continue independently of the CDC's outbreak-tracking timeline. If you or a family member were diagnosed with cyclosporiasis after eating Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce, see Atumio's Cyclospora case page for a free eligibility review, or start your case review directly.