Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Recalled Lettuce Expands to 20 States
The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Georgia, Tennessee and Texas to a Cyclospora outbreak linked to recalled iceberg lettuce on August 27, bringing the outbreak to 20 states and 11,458 confirmed illnesses.
Federal health officials reported 495 hospitalizations and two deaths in the outbreak. The deaths occurred in Michigan; an earlier FDA update said both patients had significant underlying health conditions that may have been worsened by cyclosporiasis and dehydration.
The update matters for people who may have eaten recalled lettuce even though the FDA said it remains confident that iceberg lettuce tied to this specific outbreak is no longer on the market.
What changed in the latest update
The August 27 totals rose from 10,930 illnesses in 17 states listed in the August 20 update. Georgia, Tennessee and Texas were the three newly added states.
The 20 states with reported outbreak cases are Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
The last reported illness onset date in the FDA update was August 15, 2026. That date and the additional cases do not necessarily mean recalled lettuce remains available for purchase. Most illnesses began before the July 17 recall, and public-health investigations can add confirmed cases after a suspected food has been removed from the market.
What officials are investigating
Federal officials have linked the outbreak to recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and associated with Taylor Farms de Mexico. FDA inspections and sampling at iceberg lettuce growers and a processing facility in Mexico remain underway in coordination with Mexican authorities.
The investigation remains open. The agencies have described epidemiological and traceback evidence connecting the outbreak to the recalled lettuce, but the August 27 update does not identify a completed contamination mechanism or report that the lettuce itself tested positive.
The FDA recall notice includes Marketside retail products sold at select Walmart stores, including 12- and 24-ounce Iceberg Salad and 8- and 16-ounce Shredded Lettuce with best-by dates from July 18 through August 3, 2026. The notice also lists a broader range of food-service products, brands, lot information and dates.
FDA separately lists states where distribution of recalled products was confirmed and states where products may have been distributed further. Those distribution lists are not the same as the 20 states reporting confirmed outbreak cases.
What consumers should do
Do not eat any recalled lettuce. If you still have a recalled product, throw it away and clean and sanitize refrigerators, cutting boards, containers, counters and other surfaces it may have touched.
Cyclospora can cause watery diarrhea, frequent bowel movements, loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating, increased gas, nausea and fatigue. Symptoms usually begin about one week after infection but can start as soon as two days or more than two weeks later. Without treatment, symptoms can last from a few days to a month or longer and may return after appearing to improve.
People who develop symptoms after eating recalled lettuce should contact a health care provider and stay hydrated. Patients may need to specifically request testing for Cyclospora because routine stool tests do not always screen for the parasite.
CDC also cautions that other Cyclospora illnesses and unrelated outbreaks are under investigation nationally. Not every Cyclospora infection in the United States is linked to the recalled Taylor Farms lettuce.
FDA inspections and sampling in Mexico continue, so the case count and agency guidance may change as investigators review additional information.
Sources
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