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Check our work.
Everything in both episodes came from published reporting by other people. Here is all of it, what we asked the company at the centre of the story, and where our sources contradict each other.
Method
Four rules we held ourselves to
Attributed reporting is labelled as such
Where a claim comes from an unnamed source in another outlet’s reporting — notably the Wall Street Journal account of a request to delay a recall announcement — we say so in the read, every time, rather than once at the top.
Denials run in full
Every statement from the White House, HHS, the FDA and Taylor Farms is read complete and unedited, in a second voice, so it cannot be coloured by the host’s delivery.
Opinion is separated from finding
One segment draws on an opinion essay. We say on air that it is an argument rather than a news report, and we build the same case separately from a GAO report, a former CDC director and a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist.
Unproven allegations are flagged twice
A fraud lawsuit features in Part Two. Taylor Farms is the plaintiff, not the accused. The allegations against the former executive are unproven, he is entitled to a defence, and we offered him airtime to respond.
Right of reply
What we asked Taylor Farms
Before publication we sent the company a written request for comment covering ten specific topics. Any statement they send will be read on air in full and unedited, and the offer does not expire.
| Item | What we asked about |
|---|---|
| 01 | The scope of the recall, and how a shopper was meant to identify affected product |
| 02 | The 24-hour window the FDA says it set for voluntary action |
| 03 | The reported contact with the White House about the timing of a recall announcement |
| 04 | The website statement saying the FDA had apologised, and how long it stayed up |
| 05 | Product testing and the current state of the evidence |
| 06 | Sanitation for workers at the Doctor Mora facility in Guanajuato |
| 07 | Contracted prison labour in Arizona, reported by Prison Legal News in 2023 |
| 08 | Internal financial controls following the company’s own $32m fraud suit |
| 09 | An open invitation to correct anything we had wrong |
| 10 | The two deaths confirmed in Michigan |
Their response, in full
Received 4 August 2026. Attributable to a Taylor Farms spokesperson. Published complete and unedited.
We are passionate about helping people live healthier lives through fresh produce, and the safety of our food is paramount. We maintain best-in-class Cyclospora prevention protocols and invest more than $200 million annually into our independently audited and verified food safety protocols.
When questions were raised about the source of the recent Cyclospora outbreak, we immediately removed all potentially implicated product from the marketplace, and out of an abundance of caution we issued an even broader recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from the region.
We have also voluntarily suspended all iceberg lettuce sourcing and production from central Mexico.
Additionally, we’ve commissioned independent experts to conduct a top-to-bottom review of food safety processes and protocols in our central Mexico facility, where as of July 18, 2026 we have temporarily suspended production of all products. We continue to work with health authorities, customers, and independent farming partners to address this issue.
According to the FDA, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora as of July 24, 2026.
We are confident in our food and food safety systems and will continue to be transparent as more information becomes available.
What the statement addresses, and what it does not
We put ten items to the company. This is an accounting of which ones the statement reached — not a judgement about why.
| Item | Topic | Addressed? |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Recall scope | Partly. Confirms a broadened recall of all iceberg from the region. Does not address how a shopper identifies product. |
| 02 | The FDA’s 24-hour window | Not addressed |
| 03 | The reported White House contact | Not addressed |
| 04 | The “FDA apologized to us” statement | Not addressed |
| 05 | Product testing | Yes. Cites the FDA having no confirmed positive product test as of 24 July. |
| 06 | Worker sanitation at Doctor Mora | Not addressed |
| 07 | Contracted prison labour in Arizona | Not addressed |
| 08 | Internal financial controls | Not addressed |
| 09 | Invitation to correct anything we had wrong | Not addressed |
| 10 | The two deaths in Michigan | Not addressed |
Three things we want to be fair about
Silence on the deaths is not an admission. There is active litigation, two congressional inquiries with document deadlines next week, and an open federal investigation. Any competent lawyer would advise a client to say nothing about a fatality in that position.
The statement contains real, new, creditable information. Production at the central Mexico facility has been suspended since 18 July — all products, not just lettuce. Independent experts have been commissioned. The recall was broadened beyond the initially implicated product. Those actions cost money a company doing the minimum would not spend.
It is materially the company’s 24 July published statement. Sending a journalist your existing statement is ordinary practice and not evidence of bad faith. We note it only because the questions we asked were dated 4 August, and two of them concerned events that had not happened on 24 July.
Still open, and the offer stands
If Taylor Farms wishes to address any of the eight remaining items — on the record, at any length, unedited — we will publish it here and read it at the top of our next episode. The same offer is open to Brian Thure or his counsel, to the FDA, and to HHS. It does not expire.
Where our sources disagree
Unresolved in our own reporting
Resolved 4 Aug
Hospitalisation totals. National figures across our sources ranged from “more than 90” to “over 300,” and we used Michigan’s state figure of 193 because it was the only clearly defined one. The CDC published a national figure of 517 late on 4 August. We now use that nationally and keep 193 where the claim is specifically about Michigan.
Unresolved
Grocery product. The CDC said retail shredded lettuce was unaffected; the company’s recall notice listed retail bags. Nobody has reconciled these publicly.
Unresolved
The source of the outbreak. No positive product test exists. Mexican authorities tested ten samples and found nothing; the company reports roughly 2,000 of its own samples with no positives. The FDA’s case is epidemiological.
Unresolved
The 2013 hazard determination. In November 2013 the FDA told the company to determine whether Cyclospora was a “reasonably likely food safety hazard” in the Guanajuato growing region. Whether that determination was made, and what it concluded, is not public.
Unresolved
The 2013 sampling plan. The FDA reopened the Doctor Mora plant in August 2013 partly on its review of a Cyclospora product sampling plan. No results from it appear to have been published.
Contradiction
27 states or 28? As of 31 July the company’s own information hub listed 27 states in one paragraph and 28 in its FAQ — the difference being West Virginia, one of the nine federal outbreak states.
Full source list
Every article we used
In date order. All reporting is the work of the named journalists and outlets; we have linked to the originals wherever they are not paywalled.
The outbreak and the response
- The Contrarian · Katherine StewartEssay on the outbreak, agribusiness and religious-right philanthropyOpinion. Treated as argument, not finding.
- Forbes · Chloe SorvinoTaylor Farms: scale, ownership and market position
- Gizmodo · Ed CaraOutbreak coverage and case tracking
- The Guardian · Marina Dunbar‘Not standard’ for Taylor Farms to ask White House to delay cyclospora recall, ex-FDA head says
- Reuters · Mahatole, Erickson, Polansek & MorlandCompany at center of US cyclospora outbreak complained to White House, source says
- CBS News · Megan CerulloTaylor Farms CEO pressed by lawmaker over cyclospora outbreak and White House ties
- PBS NewsHour · William Brangham with Dr Caitlin RiversCyclospora and salmonella outbreaks raise concerns about U.S. food safety
- Boing Boing · Rob BeschizzaThe many brands of Taylor Farms
- syracuse.com · Geoff HerbertAmericans changing eating habits due to outbreak: report (CBS News poll)
- 6abc Philadelphia · TaRhonda ThomasShoppers adjust grocery lists amid outbreak linked to lettuce and egg recall concerns
- Forbes · Bruce Y. LeeFDA lists 12 ongoing foodborne outbreaks — 4 Cyclospora, 3 Salmonella
- Food & Wine · Korin MillerWhich fruits are safe to eat during the cyclosporiasis outbreak?
- Nexstar / The Hill · Addy BinkMore than 18,200 cyclosporiasis cases now suspected in US: where it’s getting worse
- The Independent · Julia MustoTop produce grower warns US may not have hit ‘peak’ of foodborne illnessesAlso our source for the FoodNet change and the GAO inspection figures.
- AgNet WestMexico tests find no cyclospora in Taylor Farms lettuce samples
- NBC News · Berkeley Lovelace Jr.Michigan reports 2 deaths in cyclosporiasis outbreak
- BBC News · Kwasi Gyamfi AsieduUS reports first two deaths linked to ‘explosive diarrhoea’ outbreak
- IndyStar / USA TODAY · Cheryl V. JacksonCyclospora outbreak drives shoppers to local farmsAlso our source for the CDC dropping required monitoring of eight of FoodNet’s ten pathogens, and for the Indiana case demographics.
- Newsweek · Melissa Fleur AfsharCyclospora outbreak is just the warning — experts fear what’s coming nextProf. Jill Roberts, University of South Florida, on Listeria, PulseNet and norovirus.
- Taylor FarmsStatement to this programme, attributable to a spokespersonPublished in full above.
The business fallout
- Los Angeles Times · Caroline Petrow-CohenTaco Bell was crushing it — then cyclosporiasis hit
- Wall Street Journal · Amira McKeeCalifornia lettuce growers skip harvest, plow their crops back into the ground
- The IndependentTaco Bell isn’t the only restaurant caught in America’s lettuce crisis
- Newsweek · Khaleda RahmanTaylor Farms class action seeks $200 for Taco Bell customers
- Fox NewsTaco Bell offers discounts on lettuce-free items amid cyclospora outbreak
- New York Post / Yahoo · Titus WuCalifornia farmers destroy perfect lettuce crops amid outbreak
Corporate record
- Prison Legal NewsArizona: exploiting prisoner labor for profitReached us via Futurism, 1 Aug 2026. The practice described is lawful under the Thirteenth Amendment’s punishment clause, and several companies were named.
- KSBW Salinas · Ricardo TovarTaylor Farms Tennessee ex-president accused of stealing $32 million from companyTaylor Farms is the plaintiff. Allegations unproven.
- Futurism · Joe WilkinsReport on Taylor Farms and contracted prison labourAggregation of the 2023 Prison Legal News reporting above.
- Marler Blog · Bill MarlerTaylor Farms has rewritten its Cyclospora statement four times in sixteen daysBill Marler is a plaintiffs’ lawyer whose firm sues produce companies and may sue this one. His analysis is an interested party’s argument. It is also built on the primary documents listed below, all of which are public — read those rather than taking his word or ours.
Primary documents on the 2013 outbreak and the testing science
These are the underlying sources for the Doctor Mora segment. We have read them. So should you.
- CDCCyclosporiasis outbreak investigation report, summer 2013631 cases across 25 states. Iowa and Nebraska accounted for 239, traced to bagged salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico. Texas cases that summer were tied to cilantro from an unrelated producer; over 100 other illnesses were never attributed.
- FDAEnvironmental assessment: 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak in Iowa and Nebraska — findings and recommendationsThe processing plant and five ranches; roughly 835 samples including 269+ human faecal samples; the parasite recovered from none; assessment began five weeks after the last known illness. Contains the recommendation to determine whether Cyclospora is a “reasonably likely food safety hazard” and to re-evaluate the wash step.
- FDABacteriological Analytical Manual, ch. 19b (produce) and 19c (agricultural water)The validated molecular detection methods for Cyclospora cayetanensis.
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in MicroorganismsIndependent verification of the FDA produce methodLeafy greens spiked with 200 oocysts were detected 93% of the time.
- Journal of Food ProtectionModelling study on Cyclospora detection sensitivityThese methods have been shown not to always detect contamination present at low levels.
- FDACyclosporiasis and fresh produce — fact sheet for growersLists countries where cyclosporiasis is endemic, including Mexico. States that chlorine and other common antimicrobial treatments are not effective against the parasite, and that traditional faecal-indicator testing will not identify its presence.
Primary and official
- US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionCyclosporiasis surveillance and outbreak investigation pages
- US Food and Drug AdministrationInvestigations of foodborne illness outbreaks; recalls and safety alerts
- Michigan Dept of Health and Human ServicesInfectious disease outbreak updates
- US House Committee on OversightLetter from Ranking Member Robert Garcia to Taylor Farms
Corrections
If we got something wrong, we will say so here.
We correct errors of fact promptly and in public. Corrections are logged on this page with the date, what was wrong, and what it now says — we do not quietly edit and move on. Significant corrections are also read on air at the top of the next episode.
Correction log
No corrections issued. [Log entries here as: date — episode and timecode — what was wrong — what it now says.]
Little Hill Podcast · Last updated 5 August 2026
All reporting linked above belongs to its authors and publishers. We summarise and cite; we do not reproduce.