Yes. You may be able to sue if medical and public health evidence connects your Cyclospora infection to contaminated lettuce, salad greens, herbs, berries, or other produce. Potential defendants can include a grower, packing house, processor, importer, distributor, wholesaler, grocery store, restaurant, or another company in the supply chain.
Pritzker Hageman’s Cyclospora lawyers have represented people in major outbreaks involving bagged salad, restaurant lettuce, vegetable trays, basil, cilantro, and other produce. Contact us online today for a free consultation or call 1-888-377-8900.
What Is Needed to Prove a Produce-Related Cyclospora Claim?
A strong claim usually includes three core elements:
- A diagnosis. A stool test specifically identified Cyclospora, or other reliable medical and public health evidence supports the diagnosis.
- A food connection. The person ate a produce item, meal, or product that matches an outbreak investigation, recall, common exposure pattern, or traceback finding.
- Damages. The infection caused medical expenses, lost wages, pain, prolonged symptoms, dehydration, weight loss, or other legally compensable harm.
A recall or positive food sample can be powerful evidence, but neither exists in every case. Epidemiology, patient interviews, incubation timing, purchase records, restaurant records, loyalty-card data, supplier records, and traceback evidence may collectively establish the connection.
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2026 Lettuce and Salad Green Cyclospora Investigation
CDC and FDA have linked a nine-state outbreak of at least 1,947 illnesses to recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. People included in that outbreak reported Taco Bell exposure, and the recalled lettuce also moved through retail and other foodservice channels. FDA says the false-positive reclassification of one product sample does not change the epidemiologic and traceback evidence supporting the recall.
North Carolina is investigating a separate increase of 561 reported cases and 16 hospitalizations through July 20. Parsley, cilantro and lettuce are commonly reported foods in North Carolina interviews, but none has been confirmed as the source. Anyone diagnosed with cyclosporiasis should preserve grocery receipts, loyalty records, restaurant orders, product labels and a detailed 14-day food history. Read our North Carolina Cyclospora outbreak guide, national outbreak update and Cyclospora lawsuit guide.
How Does Cyclospora Contaminate Produce?
Cyclospora is transmitted when people ingest food or water contaminated with the parasite. Contamination can occur through irrigation water, wash water, flooding, sewage intrusion, inadequate sanitation, contaminated food-contact surfaces, or other failures in growing, packing, processing, and distribution.
Historically, U.S. outbreaks were often associated with imported produce. FDA now reports increasing domestically acquired cases linked to both domestic and imported produce, and has detected Cyclospora in domestic surface water. See the FDA Cyclospora Prevention, Response and Research Action Plan.
Fresh produce is difficult to investigate because it is perishable, often eaten raw, and distributed through long supply chains. Lettuce, berries, and herbs also have folds, crevices, or delicate surfaces that make complete cleaning difficult. Washing may reduce contamination but cannot guarantee removal of Cyclospora.
Historical Produce Outbreaks
Cyclospora outbreaks in the United States have repeatedly been linked to fresh produce, including imported and domestically produced foods. FDA notes that improved diagnostic testing has identified more domestically acquired cases in recent years. Because the source is not identified in every investigation, the presence of an outbreak does not automatically mean that all produce of a particular type is contaminated.
Past U.S. Cyclospora outbreaks have involved bagged salad mixes, lettuce, cilantro, basil, raspberries, snow peas, parsley, green onions, vegetable trays, and other produce. Examples include the 2018 McDonald’s salad outbreak, the 2018 Del Monte vegetable-tray outbreak, the 2019 basil outbreak, and the 2020 Fresh Express bagged-salad outbreak.
Our historical resources include the 2020 Fresh Express bagged-salad outbreak and Cyclospora food poisoning from basil.
From 2013 through 2015, FDA and Mexican authorities investigated cilantro from Puebla, Mexico. Investigators documented serious sanitation problems at some farms and packing facilities, leading to an FDA import alert. Those historical findings should not be used to assume that a current outbreak involves the same region or product.
Who Can Be Liable for Contaminated Produce?
- A grower or farm that used contaminated irrigation water or failed to maintain sanitary growing conditions
- A packing house or processor that used contaminated wash water or unsanitary equipment
- An importer, distributor, or wholesaler that supplied contaminated produce
- A grocery store that sold the implicated product
- A restaurant, caterer, or institutional kitchen that served the contaminated ingredient
- A company that failed to carry out an adequate recall or warning after learning of a hazard
The legally responsible parties depend on the evidence and applicable state law. A single claim may involve more than one company.
Evidence to Save in a Produce Case
- Positive Cyclospora test results and all related medical records
- Grocery receipts, loyalty-card history, restaurant receipts, delivery orders, and credit-card statements
- Product packaging, labels, lot codes, use-by dates, photographs, and recall notices
- A 14-day food history listing salads, lettuce, herbs, berries, garnish, salsa, and other fresh produce
- A symptom timeline, missed-work records, medical bills, and out-of-pocket costs
- Health department questionnaires, emails, and interview notes
Do not eat suspected leftovers. Before discarding or moving them, ask the health department or a lawyer whether they should be preserved and how to handle them safely.
What Should I Do If I Think Produce Made Me Sick?
1. Seek medical care and ask whether the stool test specifically includes Cyclospora.
2. Report a positive diagnosis to the health department and complete the food-history interview carefully.
3. Save purchase and product records before online accounts, loyalty histories, or packaging are lost.
4. Review current outbreak and recall information, but do not assume a food source based only on a news report.
5. Contact an experienced food poisoning lawyer promptly so evidence and legal deadlines can be evaluated.
Talk to a Cyclospora Produce Lawyer
If you tested positive for Cyclospora after eating lettuce, salad, herbs, berries, or other produce, Pritzker Hageman can investigate your exposure at no charge. Contact us online today or call 1-888-377-8900 (Text: 612-261-0856). You pay no attorney fees ever unless we obtain compensation for you.
How can our Cyclospora Legal Team Help?
We have obtained 100+ separate verdicts and settlements greater than $1 million:
Our client suffered substantial injuries after ingesting a defective product.
We obtained this settlement on behalf of a family whose children were sickened with E. coli.
We obtained a $12.15 million settlement on behalf of an 8-year old girl who was sickened in an E. coli outbreak.
We represented seven children who suffered intestinal injuries as a result of a defective food product.
We obtained this settlement on behalf of a 13-year old girl who was sickened with E. coli.
We won this verdict for a child with kidney damage from E. coli in contaminated food.
Our attorneys won this landmark verdict in a case against Foster Poultry Farms. Our client was a 5-year-old child who contracted Salmonella Heidelberg and, as a result, suffered brain damage.
We obtained a settlement from a company that sold contaminated food to our clients, causing the death of unborn children.
Our client suffered severe neurologic injuries as a result of Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen.
On behalf of a client who was seriously sicked by food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
See more settlements & verdicts.
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