Mexico City, Mexico, July 24, 2026 – Mexican laboratory tests found no Cyclospora in lettuce or water collected at a Taylor Farms plant in Guanajuato, but the results have not resolved a rapidly expanding U.S. outbreak now linked to 1,947 illnesses across nine states.
The Mexican Health Ministry said all 10 lettuce samples collected during a July 18–20 inspection tested negative. Four water samples also showed no Cyclospora or fecal coliforms and met Mexican physicochemical standards.
Five lettuce samples were whole products present at the plant. The other five were finished products that had been cut, washed, and disinfected. The lettuce was examined using real-time PCR at the national reference laboratory operated by Cofepris.
Health officials also reviewed workers at the plant and reported no outbreak of diarrheal illness among employees.
Those findings describe the products and water available during the inspection. They do not test every lot shipped before the recall or determine where contamination may have entered the supply chain.
That distinction became more important Friday when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its investigation from five states to nine.
The outbreak now includes Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. At least 98 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported. The illnesses counted in the investigation began between June 22 and July 20.
All 1,947 patients reported exposure to Taco Bell, according to the FDA. An earlier review of 190 Michigan cases found that 90 percent of those interviewed had eaten iceberg lettuce. Supply-chain records then converged on Taylor Farms de Mexico as the common supplier serving affected restaurants.
The FDA said Friday that the epidemiological evidence and product tracing continue to point toward shredded iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico, despite the absence of a confirmed positive product sample.
A border sample initially reported as positive was reexamined and declared a false positive on July 19. Mexican officials said the sample came from a lot detained in Laredo, Texas, that never entered the United States.
The FDA said that laboratory correction did not change the evidence supporting the recall. Cyclospora can be difficult to detect in produce, and contamination may affect individual lots without appearing in later samples collected from the same facility.
Taylor Farms began a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17. Food-service products had been distributed in at least 27 U.S. states between June 29 and July 16. The recall also includes Marketside iceberg salad and shredded lettuce sold at selected Walmart stores.
Taco Bell stopped using lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico on July 17.
The FDA’s latest notice adds a detail that has not been addressed in Mexico’s public update. Customer information supplied by Taylor Farms shows recalled products were also sold in Mexico. The FDA did not identify the Mexican brands, retailers, restaurants, lot numbers, or distribution areas involved. Cofepris had not announced a domestic consumer recall in its published statement.
The CDC continues to advise against eating products included in the recall. Symptoms can include frequent watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, and fatigue. Illness usually begins about a week after exposure but can appear between two days and two weeks or longer.
Symptoms may continue longer than a month or disappear and return. Routine stool testing does not always screen for Cyclospora, so patients with persistent symptoms may need to request a specific test.
The FDA expects the confirmed case count to continue rising because classifying an illness as part of the outbreak can take as long as six weeks. The next public updates will need to clarify which recalled products reached Mexico and whether investigators can identify the point where contamination entered the supply chain.
