For the past several weeks, people across several states have been contracting an uncomfortable intestinal illness. It has debilitated them and made them very sick. Actually, this stomach malady is caused by a microscopic parasite called cyclospora. It's usually found in tainted food like fresh produce. Investigators recently pointed to iceberg lettuce served at many Taco Bell outlets as a possible culprit.
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That lettuce allegedly came from a company called Taylor Farms. However, according to Newsweek, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Taylor Farms that tests of their lettuce allegedly registered a "false positive" for the parasite. There may be other contaminated food items not linked to Taco Bell that are responsible for the widespread outbreak as well. One patient told NBC5 Chicago what he has suffered with for days on end. It sounds utterly miserable. Per the outlet, "Nearly 7,000 people have gotten sick from cyclosporiasis across 34 states since May, according to the CDC...."
Alonso Zaragoza Has Been Hit Hard With This Sickness
Zaragoza said this physical onslaught began with relentless diarrhea. "It was just every hour and a half going to the washroom. I don't think I slept more than an hour and a half continuously in the last week." Then on Wednesday, the 46-year-old alarmingly noticed there was blood in his bowel movements.
He shared, "My family was like, 'that's not normal.' We went to the ER and had it checked. They took blood samples, stool samples, and gave me an IV drip."
Doctors at the hospital reportedly told Alonso Zaragoza that he had contracted cyclosporiasis. Therefore, he tried to recall what he might have eaten that made him so sick. Per the outlet, he said, "I looked through everything, there was nothing that I ate that contained lettuce except for chalupa from the luxe box at Taco Bell. I looked at the app, I Googled the ingredients—it said iceberg lettuce."
Action Is Being Taken To Halt the Outbreak and Identify the Foodborne Causes
Per the New York Post, "...[H]ealth officials have largely linked [the outbreak of cyclosporiasis] to contaminated lettuce produced by Taylor Farms and served at Taco Bell." In fact, customers of the chain are already reportedly filing lawsuits because they allegedly ate there, then developed the illness. It's characterized by symptoms like explosive and persistent diarrhea.
One attorney, Bill Marler, claimed that "We have been contacted by more than 30 people - and 90% of them ate at Taco Bell."
The restaurant chain is reportedly pulling lettuce from Taylor Farms out of its locations. Meanwhile, Taylor Farms is evidently recalling its shredded iceberg lettuce. Nevertheless, as noted above, there are now questions about the reliability of the test results that pinpointed Taylor Farms' lettuce. In a statement dated July 19, Taylor Farms explained that situation, alleging that the "FDA apologized to us."
