Cyclospora Cases Are Rising; Food Monopolies and the Government Are to Blame

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified a new outbreak of cyclosporiasis (“cyclospora”) on July 22 that has affected at least 72 people, bringing the number of those infected by the rare foodborne illness to more than 11,000 cases nationwide. Since 2016, federal authorities have only reported an average of about 2,800 cases per year.

The parasite travels through human feces and often spreads through contaminated water, such as drinking water or irrigation for crops. Once it targets the infected person, the parasitic infection can linger for days to weeks and cause severe cramps, nausea, and diarrhea.

At the center of this outbreak is Taylor Farms, the largest monopoly of salads and pre-cut vegetables worldwide with an estimated annual revenue of $7 billion. Describing itself as the “leading global producer of salads and healthy fresh foods, with production facilities across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe,” Taylor Farms is one of the top suppliers of lettuce to Walmart, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Chipotle, and the supplier of around 40% of salad kits that Americans purchase.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the cyclospora outbreak originated with a Taylor Farms lettuce supplier based out of Guadalajara, Mexico, prompting a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce imported from central Mexico.

Taylor Farms and other monopolies employ cheap labor and face little to no regulations in Third World countries while repressing workers’ struggles in the US to maximize profits. Taylor Farms has faced several unfair labor practice suits from its workers in the towns of Salina, Tracy, and Ontario in California. The cases all involved the monopoly threatening workers who were attempting to unionize with job-site closure and layoffs. In 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Taylor Farms for 16 safety violations and proposed a fine of over $1 million for “willfully and repeatedly violating safety requirements” after a worker was killed while cleaning machinery at a Taylor Farms vegetable processing facility in New Jersey.

Taylor Farms is no stranger to food-borne illnesses. In 2013, the FDA was able to trace cyclospora in Iowa and Nebraska to salad mix from one of its Mexican subsidiaries. In October 2024, onions linked to Taylor Farms that it supplied to McDonald’s caused an E. coli outbreak that killed one person and sickened more than 100, with no charges being brought against the produce monopoly.

With this latest incident, Taylor Farms is once again unlikely to be held accountable. Already, a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had announced Taylor Farms’ link to the lettuce sample that tested positive, it reversed the ruling, calling the result a false positive, removing it from its record and apologizing to Taylor Farms. The produce monopoly had direct access to the Trump administration officials running the investigation, with its executives meeting with White House and FDA officials two days before the positive result was announced.

The FDA later clarified, “this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”

Last year, the Trump administration moved to defund efforts by the FDA to trace and surveil bacteria and parasites infecting food after being lobbied by a group that Taylor Farms funded. Prior to meeting with White House officials, Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor donated upwards of $1 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

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