This California farm is at the center of the national explosive diarrhea crisis

A California farm is at the center of the nationwide explosive diarrhea crisis that has left thousands clinging to their toilets and hospitalized others.Salinas-based Taylor Farms has been identified as a possible source of tainted iceberg lettuce connected to the summer outbreak of cyclosporiasis, The Washington Post reported, citing two individuals with knowledge of the investigation.

Taylor Farms, described on its website as a leading producer of salad kits, vegetable trays, cheese packs and other snack items, also supplies iceberg lettuce to Taco Bell — which investigators have linked to the diarrhea outbreak.“The signal we have gotten is that there is a very high percentage of people who got sick at Taco Bell, and when investigators asked what their menu items were in common, lettuce came up frequently,” said one of the individuals who spoke to the Washington Post.

Taylor Farms issued a statement on its website Friday saying it is “voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.”“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm that represents less than 1% 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,” the company wrote.The company specified that none of its salad kits contain iceberg lettuce, and no “Taylor Farms-branded salads or kits are associated with this outbreak.”Taylor Farm’s products are sold at major grocery chains including Safeway, Whole Foods, Mollie Stone, Target, Walmart, and FoodsCo, according to its website.

Michigan has been particularly hard hit by the cyclosporiasis outbreak, reporting more than 5,000 cases as of Friday, according to Associated Press.More than 100 people in that state have been hospitalized, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal infection caused by a parasite that transmits through contaminated food and water.It cau...