The largest cyclospora food poisoning outbreak in the history of the United States has concluded, according to U.S. health officials who made the announcement on Friday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that all the recalled iceberg lettuce linked to this specific outbreak has been removed from the market.
Federal officials reported that nearly 13,000 cyclospora cases were associated with this multistate outbreak. Although Canada has experienced small, sporadic clusters of cyclospora cases in recent years, no Canadian cases have been connected to this particular outbreak.
Despite the declared end of the outbreak, several unanswered questions persist, particularly about its origin. The parasite is transmitted through human feces, and the means by which sewage contaminated enough food to cause illness in so many people remains unclear.
Ellen Shumaker, the director of outreach at Safe Plates, a food safety program at North Carolina State University, explained that contamination can occur if produce is cultivated in soil or comes into contact with contaminated water.
Since May 1, the government has received reports of almost 20,000 lab-confirmed cases, which is over 16 times the number reported during the same period the previous year. Additionally, more than 6,100 suspected cases have been reported. The highest number of infections in the U.S. in a previous year was in 2019, with around 4,700 reported cases nationally.
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes watery diarrhea and tends to lead to outbreaks most frequently in late spring and summer. The illness, known as cyclosporiasis, is less common compared to foodborne illnesses caused by other pathogens like salmonella and E. coli.
Michigan was the state most severely impacted by the outbreak, reporting the highest number of cases and the two U.S. deaths linked to the outbreak. Initially, investigators focused on lettuce served at Taco Bell, but later identified Taylor Farms in central Mexico as the source of the contaminated iceberg lettuce, leading to a recall.
The Taylor Farms recall encompassed numerous packaged salad products containing iceberg lettuce and other vegetables, which were distributed to major U.S. restaurant chains, including Yum Brands that owns Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.
On-site inspections and sample collection at iceberg lettuce growers and the processing facility in Mexico have been concluded by the FDA, with pending analysis of the samples obtained during the inspections.
This outbreak has highlighted a growing concern: U.S. regulators are conducting fewer international inspections to identify contaminated produce before it reaches consumers in the United States.