Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce sickens thousands, hitting Taco Bell and salad chains

The cyclospora outbreak that emerged in late June 2026 quickly became one of the most disruptive food-safety events in recent memory for the restaurant industry. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia before expanding the investigation to include Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, according to the FDA.

Taco Bell's parent company, Yum Brands, reported $853 million in net income for the second quarter — up from $374 million in the same period a year ago — and same-store sales at existing Taco Bell locations grew 7% in that period, per CNN. But those results covered April through June, the three months before the outbreak became public. Yum Brands' stock had fallen roughly 8% since Taco Bell was linked to the outbreak in early July, CNN reported. Foot traffic to Taco Bell dropped as much as 30% in mid-July when federal officials publicly identified the chain, improving to about 20–21% below its daily average by July 23, according to data from Placer.ai cited by both CNN and the Associated Press.

The crisis extended beyond Taco Bell. Foot traffic at salad chain Chopt, which has 105 locations, was down 12% as of July 23, the AP reported using Placer.ai data. Weekly spending at Sweetgreen dropped 10 percentage points compared to the prior year during the first half of July, according to market research firm M Science, as cited by the AP. Sweetgreen stated that its food has not been connected to the outbreak and said it follows rigorous food safety standards with full ingredient traceability.