Michigan cyclospora cases top 6,571 as RFK Jr. calls outbreak 'under control'

Michigan adds 1,569 cases in four days to reach 6,571, Ohio hits 2,029, the CDC tally stays frozen, Kennedy calls it "under control," Mexico disputes the link, and Taylor Farms lobbied the White House the day before its recall.

The case count told one story Tuesday and the health secretary told another. Michigan's health department is now reporting 6,571 cyclosporiasis patients as of July 21, up from 5,002 on July 17. That is 1,569 new cases in four days in a single state. Ohio's northwest region has logged 2,029. Together, two states account for more than 8,600 cases, and The Independent's analysis of state and federal data puts the national total above 10,000 across more than 40 states.

The CDC's own count has not moved since July 14. The agency is still reporting 1,644 confirmed cases in the five-state Taco Bell cluster (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia), with illness onset from May 13 to July 13, 94 hospitalizations, zero deaths, and 5,100 more cases under investigation across 34 states. The gap between the state dashboards and the federal tally is the widest it has been all season, a lag the CDC attributes to the time it takes to confirm cases as domestically acquired. The agency said it expects cases to keep rising through the end of August.

Into that gap walked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At a press briefing on healthcare fraud Tuesday, Kennedy was asked about the outbreak.

We do have the outbreak under control. We have done extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics and we have identified the source of the outbreak. We, and the companies that are involved, have implemented a recall.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., July 21 press briefing

Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas was less definitive. He told Fox News Tuesday that the data "strongly supports" Taylor Farms as the responsible party, a word choice that stops short of Kennedy's certainty. No product sample from the Taylor Farms facility in Mexico has confirmed positive for Cyclospora. The one result the FDA announced on July 18 was retracted as a false positive the next day, as covered in Monday's issue. The recall stands on epidemiological and traceback evidence alone.

Mexico is now pushing back. Mexican Health Secretary David Kershenobich said at a news conference Tuesday that his country's own investigation has found no evidence the outbreak originated at the Taylor Farms facility in Guanajuato, the central Mexican state where the iceberg lettuce was grown and processed.

The political dimension deepened this week. The New York Times and The Daily Beast reported that Taylor Farms executives met with White House and FDA officials on Thursday, July 16, the day before the company issued its voluntary recall. A Taylor Farms spokeswoman told the Times the company wanted to discuss what it viewed as "shortfalls in the FDA and CDC's outbreak response process" and to challenge investigators' conclusion that its lettuce was responsible. The company has also hired former White House official Trent Morse, according to Newsweek.

Newsweek also reported that Taylor Fresh Foods, Taylor Farms' parent company, donated $1 million to Make America Great Again Inc. in March 2025, and CEO Bruce Taylor personally donated $400,000 to Republican-aligned PACs in 2025 and 2026. HHS dismissed the suggestion of collusion, posting on X: "Nothing influences our decisions except science and the safety of the American people."

Kennedy also defended his agency's decision to make cyclospora reporting optional under the CDC's FoodNet program starting July 2025. "We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance," he said. Sen. Jon Ossoff sent Kennedy a letter last week questioning whether the FoodNet change weakened the government's ability to track the outbreak. The CDC's deputy division director, Dr. Gwen Biggerstaff, said the surveillance systems are "the same as we've had for all of the other seasons."

Taylor Farms is not a family farm. Founded by Bruce Taylor, it has 25,000 employees, $6 billion in revenue, and more than 40 percent of the U.S. bagged salad market, and it owns Earthbound Farms. This is its third major outbreak. In 2013, Taylor Farms salad mix from the same Guanajuato facility sickened hundreds at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. In 2024, Taylor Farms slivered onions on McDonald's Quarter Pounders sickened more than 100 people and killed one, and the FDA found dozens of violations at the processing plant.

What to do if you have recalled lettuce

The recall covers all Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, distributed June 29 through July 16. The only retail products consumers can identify by brand are Walmart Marketside bags: 12-ounce and 24-ounce Iceberg Salad, and 8-ounce and 16-ounce Shredded Lettuce, with "Best if Used By" dates from July 18 through August 3, 2026. Those were sold at Walmart in 15 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Foodservice product went to 27 states. Taylor Farms' customer list is broader than initially known: Food Safety News reports it includes Walmart, Costco, Target, Whole Foods, McDonald's, and Taco Bell, plus Sysco, the country's largest foodservice supplier, which distributes to restaurants, hospitals, schools, and hotels. If you ate at a restaurant or institution in the affected states in the last two weeks and develop prolonged diarrhea, ask your doctor for a Cyclospora test, which is not part of routine stool panels.

If you have recalled lettuce, throw it out or return it to the store for a refund. Walmart is offering full refunds at 1-800-925-6278. Taylor Farms' customer care line is 855-455-0098. Washing does not remove Cyclospora because the parasite becomes embedded in the produce.

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Tracking

Kia Telluride fire (26V430): VINs for the 462,869-vehicle 2020-2024 Telluride fire recall have been searchable on NHTSA.gov since July 17. Park outside and away from structures until the electronic fuse is installed. Owner letters mail August 13. Kia customer service: 1-800-333-4542, recall SC374. This replaces the 2024 fix that failed.

Clover Hill cheese listeria: The CDC outbreak page holds at 12 illnesses, 10 hospitalizations, 1 death (Maryland), unchanged since late June. La Ceiba requeson (sold as La Colonia/Selectos Latinos) expired July 10. If any is still in your fridge, throw it out. May be repacked under Kesso, Quesos la Ricura, Izalco, De mi Pueblo, or Rio Lindo.

Nara Organics infant formula botulism: Holds at 4 hospitalized infants (California 2, Pennsylvania 1, Washington 1), no new cases in more than a month. Recall covers all lots, sold at Target and Nara.com July 2025 through June 2026. CDC investigation page.

California Dairies salmonella: Now in its fourth month. The original April 20 recall covered 2.7 million pounds of nonfat dry milk. Eight-plus downstream brands affected, including Zapp's and Dirty chips, Ghirardelli mixes, and Motor City Pizza 5 Cheese Bread. Zero illnesses reported. FDA major recall page.