WASHINGTON, July 16 (DC Times Online) — For people deciding where to eat, the key point is that health officials have not identified a specific Taco Bell ingredient or supplier as the source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak. Michigan officials say their current results point to lettuce or salad greens, but they have not ruled out other foods.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said no specific type of produce, grower, supplier or brand has been identified. In a statement cited in Fox Business, the agency said the investigation is ongoing and that lettuce or salad greens remain the leading suspect.
Two people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post that federal and state health officials are reviewing whether Taco Bell restaurants played a role in the outbreak. Taco Bell told Fox Business that public health officials have not confirmed any link to the chain or to any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer.
The company said it had temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precaution while it monitors the situation. Fox Business reported that the Food and Drug Administration had not announced a Taco Bell recall and that its website did not show a public notice tying the chain to the outbreak.
Michigan health officials have described the outbreak as the state’s largest parasitic outbreak, and state reporting has put the number of reported cases in the thousands.
