The Mystery of the Explosive Diarrhea Lettuce Has Been Solved… Well, Sort Of

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Food News! 

You’ve probably heard about the mystery surrounding outbreaks of explosive diarrhea… a parasite… and Taco Bell.  And over the weekend, the case appears to have been cracked, kind of.

Here’s what we know:

U.S. officials linked a Taylor Farms plant in Mexico to “cyclospora,” the parasite that causes severe illness, including vomiting, cramping and explosive diarrhea.

Taylor Farms issued a recall… notifying customers that lettuce shipped to 27 states may have been contaminated.  You can find the specifics, here.

That includes lettuce that Taylor Farms shipped to Taco Bell locations in five states last week… but it’s even broader than that.  The company has said that none of their “branded salads or kits” are associated.

Instead, much of the product being recalled was sold in larger bags to food service operations like restaurants.  Many of the bags were iceberg lettuce… blended with romaine.

This is progress, but there’s a lot of ambiguity.  Even Taylor Farms’ own statements are a little confusing… and they don’t list the distributors, stores, and restaurants that received the affected products.

There ARE a few retail packages being recalled for possible health risk, and stores like Walmart are being proactive in removing inventory.

It makes you wonder if Taylor Farms even KNOWS the full extent of the compromised foods yet… or where shipments from those lots are.

The scale of the outbreak is still being determined, but it could’ve impacted more than 5,000 individuals in at least 34 states.

SOURCES: New York Times / Archive / CNN / FDA