MEXICO CITY — Two foodborne illness outbreaks linked to Taylor Farms exposed a weakness at the heart of North America's food system: the United States increasingly relies on Mexico's produce industry, and regulators are straining to oversee it to keep consumers safe.
Taylor Farms, the $7 billion company that supplies fast-food chains, major food distributors and grocers, recalled prepared products containing jalapenos this week after U.S. authorities linked a salmonella outbreak that sickened several hundred people to peppers imported from Mexico.
That followed a major cyclosporiasis outbreak, traced to iceberg lettuce Taylor Farms imported from Mexico, that made more than 6,300 people sick and caused two deaths.
The back-to-back incidents revived concerns about the Food and Drug Administration's ability to oversee imported food, experts say.
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The FDA's employment fell by 22% this year compared to 2024, according to agency data, in part due to workforce cuts since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Foreign food-facility inspections by the FDA fell by almost 13% in fiscal 2025, while imports continued to rise.
"Without question, the cuts are harmful to food safety," said Jennifer McEntire, founder of the U.S.-based Food Safety Strategy consultancy, as is "having decreased oversight to what's actually happening as outbreaks occur."
The FDA did not respond to a request for comment.
Fields are seen via drone July 24 near facilities of U.S. supplier Taylor Farms in Doctor Mora, Guanajuato state, Mexico.
Reliance on Mexico
The U.S. imported less than $3 billion in agricultural products from Mexico in 1993, the year before the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. That level increased by almost 1,500% through 2025.
Mexico now accounts for more than 20% of all U.S. food imports, according to Luis Ribera, an agricultural economy expert at Texas A&M University. The U.S. imported $16.1 billion in fresh produce last year, according to a university analysis.
"We don't have to wait for products to be in season for us to consume it year-round," Ribera said. "Having those partners is very important for the affordability of food here in the U.S."
Yet the same supply chains that keep U.S. grocery shelves stocked also periodically exposed consumers to foodborne illness.
U.S. food safety investigations over the past two decades traced outbreaks to imported Mexican fruit and vegetables, including peppers, cantaloupes, cilantro and leafy greens.
Lettuce is displayed for sale July 24 at a grocery store in Washington.
The outbreaks prompted scrutiny of irrigation water, sanitation practices and food-safety controls across the fragmented networks of growers, packers and distributors. The FDA imposed safeguards in some regions, though those exporters, growers and processors in Mexico are already subject to U.S. food-safety requirements.
However, there is no uniform certification policy requiring all Mexican produce suppliers to demonstrate their irrigation water is safe before exporting to the U.S., experts said.
Cristobal Chaidez, a researcher at Mexico's National Laboratory for Research in Food Safety, said agricultural water is a persistent vulnerability in fresh produce production in Mexico.
"During a drought, if a small farmer finds a water source, they might use it even if it's poor quality," he said, adding that food companies ultimately bear responsibility for policing their supply chains.
Michigan health officials have eased their advisory against certain lettuce after reports of cyclosporiasis infections continued to decline.
Import alerts
Taylor Farms temporarily shut down the Guanajuato processing facility that U.S. officials traced to the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
In a statement, the company said its water sources are tested for fecal indicator organisms.
"We have cooperated fully with regulators in any instance where food safety concerns were raised, taking corrective action where warranted," the company said.
The ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis was not the first linked to Taylor Farms in Mexico. In 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked restaurant-associated illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska to a bagged salad mix from Taylor Farms in Guanajuato.
Taylor Farms products are displayed for sale July 24 at a grocery store in Washington.
Historically, the FDA responded to illness outbreaks by placing particular products and regions under import alerts.
Firms that demonstrate compliance with additional safety, tracing, audit and testing requirements may qualify for the agency’s so-called green list and avoid being held at the border without needing inspection first. Yet, the green list system does not apply broadly across Mexican agriculture, and the twin outbreaks involving Taylor Farms and Mexican produce prompted questions about whether existing oversight tools are sufficient.
McEntire said import alerts and green lists generally are deployed after recurring problems emerge and serve as one enforcement tool rather than a standard requirement.
"I don't think that it is the be-all and end-all to produce safety,” she said. “It doesn't guarantee that there's still thorough understanding and execution of these practices."
