Lansing-area grocery shoppers can put bagged salad greens back in their carts. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services lifted its precautionary warning against bagged salad mixes on Friday, Aug. 7, ending weeks of guidance that urged residents to avoid the products during the state's largest recorded Cyclospora outbreak.
The outbreak sickened 12,485 people statewide since June, according to MDHHS. Ingham County reported 880 cases as of Thursday, Aug. 6, making it one of the hardest-hit counties in Michigan, according to WLNS.
Two people died in connection with the outbreak. Both had significant underlying health conditions.
MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian issued the statement Thursday, Aug. 6, saying new case reports and diarrhea-related emergency department visits are declining and that most contaminated produce is likely no longer on store shelves. The department said most exposures occurred in late June through early July.
Michigan typically sees about 50 cyclosporiasis cases per year. The 2026 outbreak exceeded that by more than 200 times.
Local impact
Ingham County Health Department Deputy Health Officer Anne Barna told Reuters in late July that her department's staff of five nurses had only investigated about half of the county's cases at that point, forcing them to drop older cases and focus on newer ones.
Wade Syers, a food safety and security specialist at Michigan State University Extension in East Lansing, told The State News in late July that the outbreak stood out for its sheer scale and geographic reach. He recommended that consumers rinse fresh produce under running water, use a produce brush where appropriate and keep raw produce separate from other foods.
Ongoing caution urged
Dr. David Rzeszutko, vice president of medical and clinical operations at Priority Health, told WILX that food safety vigilance should not end with the lifted warning.
"There's always, in the background, a concern for food-related outbreaks and food-related illness," Rzeszutko said. "Things like E. coli. They're sort of endemic and ever-present, and so just practicing good hand hygiene and good practices with our food."
What residents should know
The general bagged-salad warning is lifted, but a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, issued July 17, remains in effect. The FDA initially linked the outbreak to that supplier on July 16, then reversed the finding as a false positive on July 19. The FDA's traceback investigation continues, and no confirmed source of the outbreak has been established.
Cyclosporiasis is caused by a parasite spread through contaminated food or water. It does not spread person to person. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps and low-grade fever, typically appearing seven to 14 days after exposure. Diagnosis requires a stool sample, and patients should specifically request testing for Cyclospora, as routine tests may miss it.
MDHHS said it will continue monitoring and has shifted from daily to weekly updates, with the next report expected Thursday, Aug. 13. Residents with food safety questions can call the MSU Extension Food Safety Hotline at 1-877-643-9882, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
