What happened in 5 previous outbreaks of foodborne illnesses at restaurant chains

By — Mae Anderson, Associated Press Mae Anderson, Associated Press By — Michelle Chapman, Associated Press Michelle Chapman, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/what-happened-in-5-previous-outbreaks-of-foodborne-illnesses-at-restaurant-chains Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What happened in 5 previous outbreaks of foodborne illnesses at restaurant chains Health Jul 17, 2026 6:45 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — Big U.S. restaurant chains don't get linked to foodborne illness outbreaks often, but the number of meals they serve causes a lot of concern when contamination of some kind sickens customers. Federal health officials identified iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in five states as a source of widespread infections from the diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier as the source of the suspect lettuce. READ MORE: Lettuce supplied to Taco Bell in 5 states confirmed as a source of diarrhea-causing parasite Taco Bell issued a statement on Thursday saying that "the affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states." The company described the move as precautionary. A federal official who was briefed on the outbreak investigation and not authorized to discuss it identified the supplier as Taylor Farms, a company based in Salinas, California, that produces fresh vegetables for commercial use and meal kits and bagged lettuce products sold at supermarkets. Federal health officials stressed that other "brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels" could be identified as the investigation continues. Here's a brief history of some other recent outbreaks that roiled restaurant companies and sometimes changed how food safety is regulated in the U.S. Taylor Farms provided onions implicated in an outbreak linked to McDonald's hamburgers E. coli bacteria caused a 2024 food poisoning outbreak tied to raw onions on McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The outbreak sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, including 34 who were hospitalized, according to the FDA. One person in Colorado died. READ MORE: 5 things to know about E. coli and the McDonald's outbreak McDonald's said the onions came from Taylor Farms and temporarily pulled the Quarter Pounder off its menu in the affected states. Other national restaurant chains temporarily stopped using fresh onions in some of their locations. Likely E. coli contamination gets lettuce pulled from Wendy's sandwiches Wendy's pulled lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in August 2022 after some people reported falling ill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at the time that it was trying to determine whether romaine lettuce was the source of an E. coli outbre