Taco Bell sales dip 2% as US Cyclospora lettuce outbreak spreads
A multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infection has sickened roughly 1,900‑2,000 people across nine U.S. states, leading to about 100 hospitalizations and no reported deaths. Federal health agencies traced the source to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico and grown in central Mexico. Taco Bell removed the implicated lettuce from all U.S. restaurants on July 17, 2024, and the supplier issued a voluntary recall the following day.
The food‑safety crisis coincided with a 2 percent decline in Taco Bell sales in the United States, with the steepest drop recorded over the weekend of July 18‑19, 2024. Yum! Brands, the parent company, reported Q2 net income of $853 million – more than double the prior year – but its stock fell about 8 percent after the outbreak was linked to the chain. The company has launched $1 lettuce‑free menu promotions, such as a Mexican pizza, to restore foot traffic, which has begun to recover.
The outbreak has also affected other restaurant chains and driven a sharp rise in lettuce prices, highlighting broader vulnerabilities in the U.S. fresh‑cut salad supply chain.
Entities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · Chris Turner · Food and Drug Administration · Ranjith Roy · Taco Bell · Taylor Farms · Taylor Farms de Mexico · U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) · U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · Yum Brands
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 17 SOURCES] U.S. Taco Bell sales fell about 2 percent in Q3, with the steepest decline on the weekend of July 18‑19, 2024. (existing)
- [● 17 SOURCES] Yum! Brands reported Q2 net income of $853 million, more than double the prior year. (existing)
- [● 17 SOURCES] The outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico, sourced from central Mexico. (FDA and CDC traced the source to Taylor Farms de Mexico shredded iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.)
- [● 17 SOURCES] Sales impact bottomed on July 18, 2024. (Company executives said sales hit their lowest point over the weekend of July 18‑19.)
- [● 17 SOURCES] Taco Bell removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from all U.S. restaurants on July 17, 2024. (existing)
- [● 17 SOURCES] The outbreak sickened roughly 1,900‑1,950 people across nine U.S. states. (existing)
- [● 19 SOURCES] About 100 people were hospitalized, with no deaths reported. (existing)
- [● 17 SOURCES] Yum! Brands' stock fell about 8 percent after the outbreak was linked to Taco Bell. (existing)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The UK Health Security Agency recorded 67 cyclospora cases in returning travellers, 48 of whom had visited Mexico. (existing)
- [● 5 SOURCES] More than 18,000 cyclospora cases have been reported in the United States across 45 states. (existing)
- [● 6 SOURCES] The US outbreak has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico and traced to Taco Bell restaurants in several states. (existing)
- [● 7 SOURCES] CDC recorded 6,707 laboratory‑confirmed Cyclospora cases in the United States as of July 28, 2024. (existing)