Michigan’s cases are linked to those in eight other states. FDA’s traceback investigations linked the cases in those nine states to Taylor Farms’ shredded iceberg lettuce grown in Mexico and distributed to Taco Bell restaurants, as well as other restaurants, retailers, and food distributors. The nine states in addition to Michigan are: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
The Post reported Tuesday that the CDC is now adding six more states to the list of linked cases: Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.
The Times independently confirmed the additions later Tuesday. Still, the new states have yet to be added to the FDA’s and CDC’s sites for the outbreak cluster, which still list nine states and no deaths as of publication time. (The CDC’s general cyclosporiasis surveillance page was updated at some point Tuesday to include the deaths.)
Controversial links
All 15 states in the outbreak cluster linked to Taylor Farms lettuce are states the company identified as having received its lettuce. In a July 17 recall, Taylor Farms identified 27 states to which its lettuce was sent. But the company has refused to provide clear information about the recalled products, including how many pounds of product the recall covered, where those products were sold, and if distributors may have distributed the lettuce to additional states.
The CDC’s updated surveillance information says 47 states have now reported cases. It’s possible that the nationwide cases encompass independent clusters with additional sources of contaminated produce. It’s also possible that as investigations continue, more states will be linked to the current 15-state cluster.
