Taco Bell lettuce connected to explosive diarrhea outbreak
Federal health officials said lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants had been linked to an outbreak of the stomach-churning parasitic infection.
Taco Bell is offering another $1 lettuce-free option on July 28, following the success of last week’s $1 Enchirito promotion and the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak.
In a social media post, Taco Bell announced it will be selling its Mexican Pizza for $1 at participating locations. The fast-food chain’s Mexican Pizza features beef and beans between two flour tortillas topped with Mexican pizza sauce, cheese and diced tomatoes. It usually costs $5.39 to $6.99 depending on location.
Here’s what you should know about Taco Bell’s $1 Mexican Pizza promotion.
$1 Mexican Pizzas for one day only
Taco Bell announced that participating locations will sell its Mexican Pizza menu item for $1 through 11:59 p.m. PT on July 28. The promotion follows a similar $1 Enchirito offer that was available July 22.
Customers can get the $1 deal either in-store or through the app.
‘Doing the Lord’s work’
Taco Bell’s social media post did not tie the offers to the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak; however, the fast-food chain has recently experienced a nosedive in foot traffic since its lettuce was linked to it, USA TODAY previously reported.
Judging by the comments on the company’s Instagram post, its $1 promotions may be bringing people back in.
“Thank you for doing the Lords work!!” wrote one commenter. Someone else described the news as the “best day ever,” while another said, “Spectacular give me 14 of them.”
The promotion is limited to one Mexican Pizza per order.
Taco Bell sees dip in foot traffic
Citing data from Placer.ai, a platform that tracks foot traffic using data from cameras and mobile devices, USA TODAY reported last week that visits to Taco Bell restaurants nationwide were down by more than 30% compared with the chain’s foot traffic average for each Friday between Jan. 1 and July 6 this year.
Taco Bell announced on July 17 that it had pulled Taylor Farms lettuce from its food after the Food and Drug Administration connected it to the ongoing outbreak of the parasitic illness.
In a statement shared with USA TODAY on July 27, Taco Bell said it has “completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants,” adding, “Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell worked swiftly to voluntarily remove the product from restaurants and the affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide.”
Taco Bell did not immediately provide additional information when asked about the $1 promotions.
What’s the latest on cyclosporiasis?
On July 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the cyclosporiasis outbreak has spread to nine states, as the intestinal illness that causes weeks of severe and “explosive” diarrhea continues to sicken thousands of Americans, with case counts still climbing.
More than 11,500 cyclosporiasis cases have been reported this season, according to the CDC. While 4,173 infections have been confirmed, health officials are still evaluating about 7,400 additional reports to determine whether the illnesses were linked to exposure within the U.S. food supply.
The nine states notably linked to the outbreak are Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Cases have been reported in 41 states, the CDC said. However, federal data lags behind state data.
The CDC noted on July 24: “This outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported. This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Cyclospora.”
USA TODAY has collected figures directly from several state health departments to show where reported cases of cyclosporiasis are concentrated and which communities have been hardest hit.
Contributing: Dian Zhang, Stephen J. Beard, Ramon Padilla, Greta Cross, Melina Khan, Mike Snider / USA TODAY
Drew Pittock covers national trending news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.