WASHINGTON, July 16 (DC Times Online) — Taco Bell says it has temporarily pulled limited ingredients from some restaurants while federal and state health officials investigate a possible link to a cyclosporiasis outbreak, but Michigan officials say lettuce or salad greens are only a potential source and no brand has been identified.
The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the investigation, reported that federal and state officials are reviewing whether Taco Bell restaurants played a role in the outbreak. Fox Business separately reported the same investigation and quoted Taco Bell as saying public health officials have not confirmed a link to the chain or to any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release that current results point to lettuce or salad greens as a possible source, although other food items cannot be ruled out. The agency said no specific type of produce, grower, supplier or brand has been identified.
Taco Bell said it had voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precaution while it monitored the situation. Fox Business also reported that the Food and Drug Administration had not announced a Taco Bell recall and that no public notice on the agency’s website mentioned the chain in connection with the outbreak.
Michigan officials have called the outbreak the state’s largest parasitic outbreak. Reporting that cited state figures said Michigan had logged more than 2,600 cases in one update and 3,309 cases in another, while other reports said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed 843 cases across 31 states since May.
