A microscopic parasite has quietly moved through the food supply, turning an ordinary fast-food meal into a prolonged illness for thousands of Americans across five states. Cyclospora, traced by federal investigators to shredded iceberg lettuce from a single Mexican supplier serving Taco Bell restaurants, has sickened more than 4,300 people and hospitalized over a hundred in Michigan alone. The outbreak is a reminder that the modern food chain — vast, efficient, and deeply interconnected — carries within it the capacity to concentrate harm at scale, and that the distance between a farm and a m
Taco Bell lettuce outbreak sickens 4,300+ across US; single Mexican supplier identified
Over 4,300 people sickened with 102 hospitalizations in Michigan; symptoms include prolonged watery diarrhea, appetite loss, and weight loss lasting weeks without treatment.