Federal investigators say they have identified the source of a widespread foodborne illness that has sickened well over a thousand Americans, tracing the outbreak to contaminated iceberg lettuce grown at a single farm in Mexico and distributed through one of the nation’s largest produce suppliers.
The findings have renewed concerns about how dependent the U.S. food system has become on a small number of major suppliers, while also igniting a political debate over who deserves blame for the outbreak.
According to federal health officials, the outbreak involves Cyclospora, a parasite capable of causing severe gastrointestinal illness that can last for weeks. Investigators say contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in multiple Midwestern states was the common link among confirmed cases.
