Last month, Taco Bell became the public face of the ongoing Cyclospora parasitic outbreak after some locations in Michigan began voluntarily removing lettuce. Now, new reporting indicates that Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, was allegedly aware of the explosive diarrhea-causing parasite and its connection to some of its locations roughly two weeks before it communicated with customers publicly about the situation.
On August 3, Bloomberg reported that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services called Yum Brands on July 2 to talk about the outbreak, according to documents it had obtained through a public records request. Michigan officials then sent a follow-up email to Yum Brands asking to connect with the company’s supply chain quality assurance and comms teams for a “discussion about any intervention or notification that could be taken” at that time to reduce “the number of cases in the future.” Another email obtained by the outlet confirms that around this time, Taco Bell was already receiving media inquiries about Cyclospora-infected lettuce.
“Although it was reassuring to hear that you had not received complaints and your staff were not reporting illness, we have a strong signal from our epidemiologic interviews that we need to continue to work with Taco Bell,” wrote Michigan state epidemiologist Sarah Lyon-Callo at the time.
On July 6, Michigan officials asked Taco Bell and Yum Brands for documents related to the outbreak, adding that it needed the information in a “timely manner to preserve public health.” On the very next day, July 7, local media in Detroit began reporting that some Taco Bell locations had begun putting up signs outside that read:
“We are currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall. We apologize for the inconvenience. Any items ordered that normally come with these items WILL NOT contain them.”
At the time, neither Taco Bell nor Yum Brands had publicly confirmed such a recall. The CDC and state officials had also not requested a recall of lettuce. These signs led many to connect the outbreak to Taco Bell.
It wasn’t until July 14, 12 days after Yum Brands and Taco Bell were alerted to the outbreak possibly affecting some of their locations, that the company publicly confirmed it was removing some items from its menus due to the outbreak. Four days later, and over two weeks after that first call with state officials, Taco Bell issued a note app apology online confirming it had removed Taylor Farms lettuce and produce from its locations and begging people to come back to Taco Bell.
The Cyclospora outbreak has infected more than 6,707 people across 45 states, according to the CDC. Officials and experts in the United States are investigating possible other sources for the outbreak. At least two people with underlying health conditions have died due to the parasite.