Taco Bell is facing federal lawsuits from customers in at least two states who allege they became ill after consuming lettuce linked to a cyclosporiasis outbreak. The plaintiffs are suing the fast-food chain and its supplier, Taylor Farms, for negligence and violations of consumer protection laws.
A couple in Michigan filed suit this week, accusing Taco Bell of negligence and breaching Michigan’s Consumer Protection Act. They named Taylor Farms as a co-defendant. In Ohio, a woman claims in court documents that she contracted the parasite after eating at Taco Bell three times last month. An Ohio man has also filed a lawsuit, stating his symptoms left him unable to function.
Investigators have connected the illness, which is caused by the cyclospora parasite, to Taylor Farms, a Taco Bell supplier based in Mexico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked the outbreak to iceberg lettuce sold at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Michigan has reported more than 5,000 documented cases of the illness, according to the state’s health department. Taco Bell stated it was taking immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the new legal filings.
Details regarding the specific financial damages sought in the lawsuits or the current status of the legal proceedings were not provided in the source material.
