Taco Bell removes lettuce from Mexico from its US restaurants

The fast food chain Taco Bell decided to remove from its restaurants in the United States lettuce potentially contaminated by the parasite that causes cyclosporiasis. After that product was linked to the transmission of a diarrhea outbreak that has affected different states in the country.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced that the outbreak is related to shredded iceberg lettuce served in its restaurants in five states.

CDC said it has identified a single supplier in Mexico of the lettuce used by those establishments. According to different American media, it is the company Taylor Farms.

Over 1,664 individuals impacted by this epidemic reported eating at Taco Bell restaurants in West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. 94 hospitalizations are reported by the CDC.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn this Friday, the company stated that it takes its customers’ health and safety very seriously and that, even though no formal notice has been given, it has eliminated the supplier of the potentially contaminated lettuce from its supply chain. The supplier will be replaced within a day.

To find out if the supplier’s shredded iceberg lettuce was disseminated elsewhere, health authorities are in close communication with the supplier. The CDC also stated that it is looking at unrelated cyclosporiaris instances around the United States.

Among the symptoms caused by this intestinal disease, severe and frequent diarrhea stands out, along with loss of appetite and weight, abdominal distension, nausea, fatigue, low fever and vomiting.