Cyclospora Outbreak Ends with Lettuce Recall | Raleigh News

0:00It's September 11th, Raleigh News. Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Alright, let's talk about this cyclosporial situation. Health officials are saying the biggest outbreak of this parasitic illness in US history is officially over. We're talking about almost 13,000 reported cases that were linked to iceberg lettuce. This was a huge spike compared to previous years, with the government seeing nearly 20,000 confirmed cases since May 1st. This particular outbreak was heavily concentrated, with 21 states reporting cases. Michigan ended up being the hardest hit, unfortunately, recording the only two deaths associated with this outbreak. Cyclosporial itself is a microscopic parasite that typically causes severe watery diarrhea. In these outbreaks, tends to pop up more in the warmer. Months. The investigation initially pointed towards lettuce served at Taco Bell, and eventually, the focus landed on Taylor Farms. They recalled iceberg lettuce that was grown in central Mexico.

1:01This recall covered a lot of packaged salad mixes that were sent out to major restaurant chains across the country. Now, the FDA has wrapped up their inspections in sample collection at the lettuce growers and the processing plant in Mexico. While they're still waiting on the final analysis of some samples, they seem confident that all the recalled lettuce is out of the food supply chain. For this specific outbreak, this whole event really highlights a bigger concern about how produce gets inspected. It's brought attention to the fact that US regulators have been doing fewer international inspections, which means contaminated food might be. It's slipping through before it even gets to our plates.