A timeline of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history

Lab results link the Taylor Farms-linked cyclospora outbreak of 2026 to at least 12,883 of the illnesses in 17 states as of Oct. 2. Taylor Farms recalled affected iceberg lettuce on July 17. The event is now the largest cyclospora outbreak on record and one of largest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. The formal federal investigation closed on Oct. 2.

It’s no accident that all but three of the largest documented outbreaks occurred in the last three decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created PulseNet in 1996 to link foodborne illnesses using the DNA fingerprints of the bacteria found to be making people sick.

Our research puts this cyclospora outbreak as the third largest. Here are the others we can document, in order:

• Ice cream with Salmonella in 1994: 224,000 illnesses nationwide.
• Milk with Salmonella in 1985: 168,000 to 197,000 illnesses estimated (16,000+ illnesses lab-confirmed), at least nine deaths.
• Iceberg lettuce with cyclospora parasites in 2026: 12,883 illnesses in 21 states, with 570 hospitalizations and two deaths.
• Eggs with Salmonella in 2010: 3,578 illnesses in multiple states.
• Peppers with Salmonella in 2008: 1,442 illnesses, 286 hospitalizations and two deaths in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
• Onions with Salmonella in 2020: 1,127 illnesses and 167 hospitalizations in 48 states.
• Whole, fresh onions with Salmonella in 2021: 1,040 illnesses, 260 hospitalizations in 39 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
• Imported cucumbers with Salmonella in 2015: 907 illnesses, 204 hospitalizations and six deaths in 40 states. 
• Peanut butter with Salmonella in 2008: 714 illnesses in 46 states and nine deaths, leading to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.
• Undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box in 1993: More 700 people, mostly children, sickened by E. coli, and four deaths. This outbreak led to an overhaul in guidance for meat cooking temperatures.  
• Raw or undercooked green onions in salsa with hepatitis A in one restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 2003: More than 650 cases and four deaths. More than 9,000 people who’d eaten at the restaurant during the period in question or had contact with customers were given shots to prevent hepatitis A.
• Chicken with Salmonella in 2013: 634 illnesses in 29 states.
• Cucumbers with Salmonella in 2024: 551 illnesses, 155 hospitalizations and no deaths in 34 states and Washington D.C.
• Jalapeño peppers with Salmonella in 2026: 488 illnesses, 65 hospitalizations in 34 states.
• Cantaloupes with Salmonella in 2023: 407 illnesses, 158 hospitalizations and six deaths in 44 states.
  
  S​ources: CDC, NIH, PIRG research