FOIAengine: Twenty-One Requests from News Media, Non-Profits and Companies
The nationwide outbreak of cyclospora infections this summer prompted a steady stream of national and local news articles, along with 21 Freedom of Information Act requests to the Food and Drug Administration. These requests, which have not previously been reported, were submitted by the news media (13), non-profit organizations (6), and commercial organizations (2).
The FDA, the Centers for Disease Control, and state and local public health officials so far have investigated 9,481 cases, resulting in 398 hospitalizations and two deaths in at least 17 states. On July 17, Taylor Farms initiated a recall of iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, which has been linked to many of the infections. The recalled lettuce was distributed and sold in at least 31 states to consumers, restaurants, and retailers, including Taco Bell locations and Marketside-brand products at select Walmart locations.
To learn more about the issues that journalists have been investigating, we analyzed news media requests to the FDA. We learned that reporters sought answers to a broad range of questions beyond the cyclospora incident itself. They wanted to know, among other things, about the FDA’s communications with representatives of Taylor Farms and the White House; possible links to similar cyclospora outbreaks in 2011 and 2019; Taylor Farms’ operations in Florida and Colorado; and contacts between FDA officials and Taco Bell and Yum! Brands attorneys and lobbyists.
Given the short amount of time since the July requests, it is too early to assess whether the requests have yielded FDA documents that contributed to specific news reports. But these news media requests clearly are an integral part of the ongoing coverage of several news organizations, including The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, and The Washington Post.
News Media Requests
The following are details about journalists’ requests to the FDA during July relating to the cyclospora outbreak.
Megan Thielking, a senior editor at the New York Times, on July 20 submitted a broad request for FDA documents, including “all meeting minutes, agendas, attendee lists, notes, and briefing materials prepared for or resulting from the aforementioned July 2026 meeting(s) involving Taylor Farms, FDA officials, and/or White House staff” and communications “sent between FDA officials and staff at the Executive Office of the President … containing any of the following keywords: ‘Taylor Farms’, ‘cyclospora’, ‘lettuce’, or ‘Taco Bell.’ “
The Times has been on the story from its inception, publishing substantial cyclospora reporting by its journalists, particularly Christina Jewett and Julie Creswell. Their reporting includes a July 18 article entitled “Retailers Remove More Taylor Farms Lettuce After Recall in 27 States.”
Waylon Cunningham of Reuters on July 30 requested “all email correspondence between personnel on FDA’s Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation & Emergency Preparedness team and email addresses that end in the following domains: @yum.com ; @tacobell.com ; @taylorfarms.om ; @walmart.com ; @sysco.com ; @us.mcd.com ; @sweetgreen.com ; @chipotle.com ; @costco.com.”
Cunningham has been one of Reuters’ principal reporters covering the business effects of the outbreak and co-authored at least three cyclospora-related articles during July and August. His most recent is a story on August 8 about the continuing effects on supermarkets, restaurants, consumers and lettuce sales. Cunningham also contributed reporting to Reuters’ August 6 overview, “U.S. Restaurant Chains Hit by Foodborne Illness Outbreak.”
Curt Devine of CNN on July 22 and 29 asked for information related to “Taylor Farms de Mexico (in Doctor Mora, Mexico) in 2011 and 2019. Specifically, we are seeking records related to these inspections … from June 17, 2019, to June 21, 2019,” and “an inspection ended February 11, 2011.”
Devine has been covering this issue for some time, and on August 6 he and two CNN colleagues published a related article, “Cyclospora outbreak follows years-long pattern of Taylor Farms deflecting blame”, which CNN describes as an investigation of Taylor Farms’ responses to previous cyclospora and E. coli outbreaks.
Nate Jones, the FOIA Director at The Washington Post, submitted three ambitious requests on July 27 for Form 483s or Establishment Inspection Reports “mentioning Taylor Farms de Mexico… from January 1, 2019, until the processing of this request is completed.” Jones also requested “documents referencing the sample of lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico which was reported positive on July 18, 2026” as well as “those that were false positives.”
Jones is the Post’s FOIA director, and his Post profile specifically says that his job is to work with reporters to identify records to request and to obtain federal, state and local records.
Sara Rubin of the Monterey County Weekly in Seaside, CA on July 29 made a lengthy request for numerous documents, including those about cyclospora outbreaks in Michigan and “any apologies communicated to any Taylor Farms representatives about the suspected false positive on or around July 18-19.”
On July 23, Rubin published an opinion piece entitled “Bad information leads to conspiracy theories around cyclospora outbreak” in which Rubin discusses Taylor Farms, the FDA’s false-positive finding, Taylor Farms’ assertion that FDA apologized, the continuing investigation and the breakdown in communication surrounding the outbreak. Her request concerning Michigan and the alleged FDA apology appears to be a follow-up prompted by questions raised in the column.
Andrea Chalfin of KRCC radio in Colorado Springs, CO , who had reported on the subject in 2025, on July 17 requested “inspection reports (current or historical) related to Taylor Farms’ Colorado Springs food processing and distribution facility … and “food-borne outbreak reports (current or historical) related to Taylor Farm’s Colorado Spring food processing and distribution facility.”
Chalfin has previously reported on Taylor Farms — including a January 2025 story about FDA inspection findings at the company’s Colorado Springs facility — which helps explain why she would pursue historical inspection and outbreak records now. We found no subsequent 2026 Cyclospora article under her byline.
Yum! Brands and Taco Bell. Gregory Korte of Bloomberg News on July 24 and 27 submitted requests for “all communications between the FDA and the following companies, including their attorneys, lobbyists and representatives” related to “Yum! Brands and its subsidiary, Taco Bell.”
Non-Profit Requests
Three non-profit organizations also submitted July requests to the FDA regarding the cyclospora outbreak.
Caitie Occhipinti of American Bridge Educational Foundation submitted three requests to the FDA on July 28. The first asked for “a copy of the final laboratory report concerning the sample of iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico (central Mexico) that FDA identified as testing positive for Cyclospora cayetanensis.” A second request sought “copies of all incoming-and-outgoing email communications between the FDA and Taylor Farms/Taylor Fresh Foods from July 1, 2026 to July 21, 2026. Please limit your search to communications to or from the Office of Food Safety, the Office of Compliance and Enforcement, and/or the Office of Inspections and Investigations.” A third request asked for “1. All records, data, and reports underlying FDA’s traceback investigation and epidemiological analysis supporting the outbreak advisory and Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall, independent of the false-positive sample. 2. Any FDA standard operating procedures, guidance, or historical data concerning false-positive rates in Cyclospora PCR/molecular testing.”
Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward Foundation submitted two requests on July 30. The first sought “all electronic communications” between senior FDA officials, the White House, and representatives of Taylor Farms from from July 1 through July 30. A second request sought all records relating to a meeting on July 16, 2026, between representatives of the FDA, White House, and Taylor Farms.
Kate Bailey of Judicial Watch, Inc. on July 22 asked for “all communications” between any representative of the FDA and Taylor Farms relating to the outbreak of cyclospora and resulting product recalls from July 1, 2026, to the present. A second request sought “all communications” between representatives of the FDA, Taylor Farms, The White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Office of the Secretary MAGA, Inc.
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Randy E. Miller, co-creator of FOIAengine, is a Washington lawyer, publisher, and former government official. He has developed several online information products and was a partner at Hogan Lovells, where he founded the firm’s Brussels office and represented clients on international regulatory matters. Miller also has served as a White House trade lawyer, Senior Legal Adviser to the U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization, policy director to Senator Bob Dole, and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He is a graduate of Yale and Georgetown Law. FOIAengine is a product of PoliScio Analytics (PoliScio.com), a venture specializing in U.S. political and governmental research, co-founded by Miller and Washington journalist John A. Jenkins.
Write to Randy E. Miller at randy@poliscio.com.
