LOS ANGELES, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Taylor Farms, a California-based lettuce supplier, announced Friday that it is voluntarily removing iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico after U.S. health authorities identified the company as a possible source of a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people.
"As a family-owned company, we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the Americans whose trust in the safety of fresh produce has been shaken," Taylor Farms said in a statement.
The company said the move was prompted by information provided Thursday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm that represents less than 1 percent of the U.S.'s iceberg lettuce supply as the potential source of the outbreak, we have removed all iceberg lettuce from the region indefinitely," Taylor Farms added, noting that "No Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits are associated with this outbreak."
"We are committed to doing everything in our power to address this issue, support the ongoing investigation, and help restore trust," the company concluded in the statement.
Taylor Farms, based in Salinas, California, is a supplier to several major restaurant chains across the United States.
A source familiar with the investigation told CBS News Thursday that a traceback investigation by the FDA found that people who contracted cyclosporiasis had eaten the lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms to Taco Bell outlets in five states.
"Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell has taken immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states," said Taco Bell in a statement Thursday.
Reports of cyclosporiasis are rising rapidly in the United States, with state and local systems recording far more cases than federal figures because of a backlog in case analysis, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said earlier this week.
The CDC said Tuesday it had received 1,645 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis across 34 states since May 1, with 141 hospitalizations and no deaths, in addition to more than 5,100 reports awaiting analysis before they can be classified as domestically acquired.
