Taylor Farms Faces First Class Action Over Cyclospora Outbreak

Taylor Farms is sued in a class action after a Cyclospora outbreak linked to its lettuce.

Taylor Farms, a leading lettuce supplier to major retailers and restaurants such as Costco, Whole Foods, Taco Bell, and Sweetgreen, is facing its first class action lawsuit after a Cyclospora parasite outbreak potentially linked to its products. The company issued a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico between June 29 and July 16, 2026, following reports of contamination.

The outbreak has sickened at least 1,645 people across five states and led to 141 hospitalizations. Despite an initial FDA report detecting Cyclospora in Taylor Farms lettuce, the agency later labeled the test result a false positive after further quality control. However, FDA officials remain confident in their outbreak investigation, tracing the contamination back to Taylor Farms' shredded iceberg lettuce.

The class action lawsuit was filed by an Army veteran, David Ott, who alleges he contracted cyclosporiasis from contaminated food supplied by Taylor Farms via Taco Bell. Plaintiffs in the case argue that "Taylor Farms was aware of the dangers associated with cyclosporiasis contamination prior to the manufacture of the products and should have identified any such contamination through its own testing and analysis prior to placing the products in the marketplace."

Kyle Diamantas, Acting FDA Commissioner, emphasized that communications about the false positive test do not affect the ongoing outbreak investigation or the epidemiological data supporting the voluntary recall.

This litigation highlights the compliance and liability challenges food suppliers face amid outbreaks affecting multiple states and large retail chains. Legal teams for in-house counsel and litigation practitioners will need to carefully assess supply chain protocols, testing rigor, and risk management practices in responding to such crises.