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• The FDA said an earlier test involving a Taylor Farms lettuce sample produced a “false positive.”
• The agency later clarified that there is still “overwhelming epidemiological data” supporting a recall.
• Amid the confusion, a question remains: should I eat salad or not?

As the FDA and Taylor Farms go back and forth on the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak in the US, Americans still have one pressing question: Will my salad give me explosive diarrhea?

On Sunday, the FDA said a test pointing to Taylor Farms as a potential source of Cyclospora was a false positive.

Taylor Farms said on Sunday that the FDA had apologized to the salad juggernaut, but its voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico in the US market was still in place.

In a separate statement shared Monday, the FDA said: “To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.

It added its “traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico.”

So far, so confusing.

Dr. Tyler Evans, an infectious disease doctor and the author of “Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics,” said that deciding whether or not you want to eat salad depends on your risk tolerance, as well as where you live.

To help you decide, we broke the risk down into three tiers: low, medium, and throwing caution to the wind.

Since the outbreak was detected in May, more than 8,260 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported to state and federal health departments, according to data compiled by the Georgetown University Health Security Operations Center.

The bulk of the cases have been reported in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, and Colorado, but that could simply be because those states have more robust public health surveillance than others.

The cyclospora parasite thrives in hot summer weather. Public health authorities say at worst, this outbreak could last until the end of August, but that’s a long, sweaty stretch of weather to face without any leafy greens in your diet.

Evans is based in California, where there isn’t much cyclosporiasis being reported, and said he just had salad at a Mexican restaurant.

“I’m a very risk-tolerant infectious disease doctor,” he said.

If you’re older, immunocompromised, pregnant, under the age of 2 (with a developing immune system), or have a medical condition, you may want to play things a little safer until the fall.

Lowest risk of infection

To ensure you will definitely not contract cyclosporiasis, choose only vegetables that are cooked to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature that kills this parasite. If you like berries, make jam. Craving veggies? Try grilled asparagus.

If you’re in a high-risk category, “I would completely refrain from not just lettuce or iceberg lettuce, but probably all leafy greens for the foreseeable future,” Evans said.

Last week, Business Insider spoke to a GI doctor who recommended some high-fiber swaps for those who can’t face fresh produce right now.

Medium risk

Buy whole heads of lettuce, remove and discard the outer layer of leaves, and wash them thoroughly under cold running water before consuming. You can also shop for lettuce grown locally at farmers’ markets. Keep an eye on your local case numbers to inform your decisions.

“In states or areas where there’s a higher incidence, then I think using the mantra to peel it, boil it, cook it, or forget it is a good idea,” Evans said.

Throwing caution to the wind

Eating raw, unwashed leafy greens, especially bagged pre-chopped lettuce and salad kits, which have been the most common source of cyclosporiasis outbreaks in recent years, may be risky.

Other vegetables that have been contaminated with the parasite in the past include raspberries, snap and snow peas, and fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, parsley). It’s possible that none of these foods are involved in the current outbreak, and that the risk is limited to only leafy greens, but we don’t know for sure.

“Once the temperatures start dipping, we should be in the clear again,” Evans said. “But the systems can do a lot better. There’s some degree of acceptable risk in terms of the seasonality outbreaks, but we can do better in terms of detecting and responding to these things.”

• Current and former students of 10 elite schools are receiving payments from a $284 million financial aid settlement.
• Recipients are expected to receive an average of $2,000.
• It follows an antitrust lawsuit that accused schools of participating in a “price-fixing cartel.”

Check your bank account: you might be a couple of thousand dollars richer.

On July 20, the first batch of payments to current and former students who attended 10 elite schools was distributed from a $284 million settlement. It follows a 2022 lawsuit filed by students who accused the schools of participating in “a price-fixing cartel” that favored wealthy students and reduced financial aid packages for students, overcharging recipients “by at least hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to the lawsuit.

The schools denied wrongdoing and agreed to make settlement payments to resolve the claims. According to the settlement website, current and former students who attended the following schools will receive payments of an average of $2,000: Brown, University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Rice, and Yale.

Payments are being sent out through ACH, PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo. Those who opted for a physical check are expected to receive it by July 24.

Current and former students are expected to receive payments if they were enrolled in one of the listed schools’ undergraduate programs full-time, received need-based financial aid from the school, and whose tuition and room and board costs were not fully covered by the financial aid they received.

Have a story to share? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• I took a dream job that required me to travel across the country to Denver every third week.
• As much as I enjoyed the work, being away from my young kids every month ate away at me as a parent.
• Years later, my kids don’t remember this time in our lives. I shouldn’t have been so hard on myself.

A few years ago, I landed my dream job. I was asked to lead the content team for an amazing brand and reinvent its look and feel, all while working with a ton of inspiring, creative people.

It was the kind of job I told people about, and their jaws dropped. “Oh my God, this is so perfect for you!” they would gush.

It really was. However, there was one pretty enormous catch: the commute. The job was based fully across the country from me, in Denver.

And the deal was that I had to be in the office for one week every third week, no exceptions.

Juggling my job and my kids was already a challenge

Living in the New Jersey suburbs and working in New York City my entire career, I was used to heartbreaking, no-win work/parenting moments.

Many days, my commute to work would top 90 minutes each way. Many nights, sitting at a standstill in a train somewhere between the city and my town on infuriatingly unreliable NJ Transit, I would watch the minutes tick away, knowing I wouldn’t make it home by my young kids’ bedtime.

Especially in those early years, it was a work/life tradeoff we lost as often as we won. My husband and I got to have alpha jobs we loved, and my kids got to play in grassy suburban backyards, but the ratios would constantly be out of whack.

I have a super ambitious CEO friend who used to tell me that “balance” was best evaluated longitudinally. Month-to-month, not day-to-day. It was crushing to think too much about the midday kids’ Halloween parade you were missing for the twice-rescheduled client kick-off.

After taking the role, I tried to adjust to our new normal

So in some ways, my new role — one week working in Denver, then two weeks at home — felt like a massive upgrade.

For the first time in my life, I was completely around when my kids got home from school. But I would still run the calculations endlessly in my head.

What was better for them — me being somewhat absent during the week, every week? Or me being completely gone every third week, but around the other two? There was literally no way to know.

We created new rituals for the week I was away — my youngest would request tours of the bathroom in every fancy hotel room, giggling over FaceTime when I showed him the potty and the extra toilet paper neatly stacked alongside. “They must have been planning for you to stay here!” I would joke.

I was completely split in two during that time. I actually loved my days out West: Fancy hotels, grown-up dinners, beautiful weather, exciting, important work with inspiring people.

However, I also began to dread that Sunday flight earlier and earlier on in my at-home weeks — always cutting into that last weekend night with an almost certainly turbulent descent into the Denver airport.

Years later, my now-teens made me realize I shouldn’t have been so hard on myself

Many years after I left that role — and the pandemic had made working from home much more common — I brought up the job with my kids. “Remember when Mom used to travel every three weeks? I know that was a hard time.”

Reader, they literally did not remember it.

Not like it was no big deal, but like they literally did not remember the years I spent commuting over the Rocky Mountains.

Of course, this is a lesson to all working parents to be less hard on themselves. A modicum of “all the ways you think you’re screwing up your kids, you’re actually not.”

But it’s impossible to realize when it’s happening, and honestly, looking back with almost-independent teens now, I don’t regret a moment of it.

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup was a magnet for celebrities.
• Actors, moguls, musicians, and athletes were seen at games across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
• The final was held on July 19, with Spain emerging victorious.

If you’re anything like Hollywood’s best and brightest, you were obsessed with the World Cup.

In the six weeks leading up to Spain’s victory on Sunday, dozens of games were played in the US, Canada, and Mexico, drawing celebrities from every corner of the world.

Timothée Chalamet, Beyoncé, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, David Beckham, Issa Rae, Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bezos were just some of the high-profile fans we were able to spot in the stands.

Here are some of the best photos of celebrities rooting on their favorite teams.

Salma Hayek and Emilio Estefan

Hayek, who is Mexican, was in the stands to kick off the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City, at a Mexico vs. South Africa match. She was joined by Latin music legend Estefan, who produced the song “We’re All Mexicans” in 2015.

Tom Cruise

Cruise attended Team USA’s first World Cup match on June 12 — of course he did; it was in Los Angeles, and he’s still the reigning King of Hollywood. He was seated next to Irish soccer coach Robbie Keane.

Cruise continued to pop up at games throughout the tournament, including the final, when he kicked off the match with a rousing speech.

Ryan Reynolds

A proud Canadian, Reynolds was spotted in the stands cheering on Canada at their match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12.

Besides national pride, Reynolds has a professional interest in soccer, as well — he’s a co-owner of the Welsh club AFC Wrexham, which has been filmed in the docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham.“

Rod Stewart

Stewart, who grew up in London, was spotted cheering on Scotland at the June 13 game against Haiti. While Stewart himself may identify as English, his father was Scottish.

Kit Harington

It doesn’t seem like Harington has any specific ties to Morocco, but he attended the June 13 match between Brazil and Morocco with his brother, who wore a Brazil jersey, so perhaps it was just a bit of sibling rivalry.

Travis Scott

Scott, while not Brazilian himself, is good friends with Brazilian players Neymar and Vinícius Júnior. He was seen proudly supporting Team Brazil in their trademark yellow jersey on June 13.

Tom Brady

While he’s not with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen anymore, they were married for 13 years and have two (half-Brazilian) kids together, so it wasn’t a total surprise to see him attending the country’s game on June 13.

Issa Rae

Rae, whose father is from Senegal, and her husband, Louis Diame, who is Senegalese, were seen cheering on Senegal during their game against France on June 16.

David Beckham

Another famous England fan is, of course, Beckham, who played for the English national team from 1996 to 2009. He attended multiple games this World Cup, including this one on June 23 against Ghana.

Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Colin Farrell

“Fight Club” costars Norton and Pitt took in the US vs. Turkey game on June 25, with Pitt wearing one of Team USA’s alternate blue jerseys.

Seated in front of them was Farrell, who, in lieu of supporting his home country of Ireland (which didn’t make the cut this year), wore a Team USA jersey.

Pitt was spotted again at the July 10 game between Spain and Belgium with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, whose family hails from Madrid.

Paris Hilton

Hilton was also at the USA vs. Turkey game on June 25, along with her two kids. They all wore bedazzled Team USA jerseys.

Channing Tatum

Tatum blended into the crowd of Norwegian supporters during their game against France on June 26. Tatum, while not Norwegian, collaborated with Norwegian star Erling Haaland on a Nike commercial earlier in the month, in which Tatum played the striker’s stunt double.

Ed Westwick

The “Gossip Girl” star attended the match between his home country, England, and Panama on June 27 with his wife, Amy.

Gerard Butler

Sitting a few rows behind Westwick was Butler and his longtime partner, Morgan Brown.

While Butler is Scottish, he has a history of rooting for England. He told Esquire in 2015, “I’m actually a fan of England, I’ve lived in London for many years and have always enjoyed watching the football teams.”

Cara Delevingne

Delevingne, bottom right, is a born-and-raised Londoner, so it was no surprise to see her in the stands for England’s match against Panama on June 27.

Jason Sudeikis

While Sudeikis is American, he clearly feels a connection with the adopted homeland of his soccer coach character, Ted Lasso, because he was seen at the England vs. Panama game on June 27 repping England.

He was seen once again, this time in character as Lasso, during the halftime show of the final.

Simu Liu

Did you know that Shang-Chi is Canadian, eh?

The Marvel star was seen cheering Canada on at their June 28 match against South Africa.

Drake

Drake went viral during this game for doing Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature move, so we can assume he was rooting for Portugal in their game against Croatia on July 2.

Either way, Drake is a proud Canadian, so there was no way he was going to miss a World Cup game played in his home city of Toronto.

Samuel L. Jackson

Now you might be wondering: What was Jackson doing at a game between Egypt and Australia?

Well, the “Pulp Fiction” star is a die-hard fan of the Premier League team Liverpool, and Egypt’s star Mohamed Salah was one of the club’s biggest players from 2017 until his departure in 2026. Jackson was even spotted shaking hands with Salah before the game on July 3.

Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie

Baccarin, best known for her role in the “Deadpool” films, was born in Rio de Janeiro and lived in Brazil until she was 10. She still reps the country and supported them at their match on July 5. Her husband, “The OC” star Ben McKenzie, attended with her.

Joel Embiid

Embiid, a star NBA player, married his Brazilian wife, Anne de Paula, in 2023. He joined his wife and son to support Brazil in their game on July 5.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos

Famously, Amazon got its start in Washington, so it surprised no one to see Bezos and his wife turn up to watch Team USA on July 6 at Seattle Stadium.

Javier Bardem

Bardem was spotted a few times rooting for his home country of Spain throughout this World Cup, most recently at the finals between Spain and Argentina on July 19.

Timothée Chalamet

Chalamet, whose family hails from France, attended the 2026 semifinals between France and Spain on July 14.

France lost, but Chalamet can’t be too upset — his beloved New York Knicks were crowned NBA champions earlier this summer.

Jessica Alba and Danny Ramirez

Ramirez and Alba, who began publicly dating in July 2025, supported Argentina at the final on July 19, showing Latino solidarity.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Fresh off his star-studded Yankee Stadium concert series, Jay-Z and Beyoncé attended the World Cup final on July 19.

Anya Taylor-Joy

Taylor-Joy is Argentine on her father’s side, and grew up in Buenos Aires until she was 6 years old, so it makes sense she was seen sporting an Argentina-colored scarf at the finals on July 19.

Matt and Luciana Damon

The same weekend that his film “The Odyssey” dominated the box office, Damon and his wife, Luciana, who is Argentine, were spotted supporting her home country.

• The FDA has linked shredded lettuce sold at Taco Bell to the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
• Thousands of cases of watery diarrhea have been linked to the parasite across the US this summer.
• Taylor Farms on Friday said that it was pulling iceberg lettuce from central Mexico “indefinitely.”

They found it.

The US Food and Drug Administration has linked shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants in five states to an ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak.

The agency said shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia was responsible for 1,644 confirmed cyclosporiasis cases.

The FDA pointed to a “single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico.” It did not name the company, though a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider the outbreak was linked to Taylor Farms.

On Friday, Taylor Farms said that it was pulling all of its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico “indefinitely.”

On Saturday, the company expanded its recall list to include four Marketside-brand products sold at Walmart, America’s largest food and grocery retailer. In response, Walmart said it has removed four Marketside salad products from its shelves.

“Although there is no indication that products sold in our stores are affected by the current Cyclospora investigations, we have removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products from select locations as a precaution after receiving notice from our supplier,” Walmart said in a statement.

Walmart said it did so out of an abundance of caution. The products were sold in nearly 30 states. “There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with these products at this time,” the company said.

An investigation by health officials, meanwhile, is ongoing, meaning other potential sources of the outbreak could yet be identified.

The true number of people who’ve been sickened this summer is likely much higher. Cyclospora infections have spread across 34 states since May 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of July 13, the agency had confirmed 1,645 cases and 141 hospitalizations, with no confirmed deaths.

Hard-hit Michigan has reported more than 4,300 cyclosporiasis cases in that state alone. Michigan health authorities said on Monday that their investigation was also pointing to “lettuce or salad greens” as a potential source of contamination.

Taylor Farms is one of the largest suppliers of lettuce in the world

Taylor Farms is the world’s largest producer of salad, supplying chain restaurants like Chipotle and McDonald’s, and big grocery stores, including Costco, Walmart, and Trader Joe’s. The company says it operates 30 processing facilities across North America.

On Thursday night, Taco Bell said that “based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution,” it would “voluntarily remove” possibly impacted lettuce.

“The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states,” the company said.

Taylor Farms said Friday that the salad kits and other produce it sells were unaffected by the contamination of iceberg lettuce.

Health experts have recommended avoiding bagged lettuce and salads until the outbreak is over, advising consumers to choose whole heads of lettuce and remove the outer layer of leaves, and wash all produce thoroughly. There is no surefire way to wash cyclospora off produce, so the safest move is to cook foods to at least 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cyclospora thrives in summer heat. Gwen Biggerstaff, the CDC’s deputy director of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases, said Tuesday that “we anticipate continuing to see cases increase possibly through the end of August, which is the end of the cyclosporiasis season.”

Watery diarrhea is a hallmark of the illness

People who have gotten sick with cyclosporiasis this summer have complained of watery diarrhea, cramping, and gas. The illness can last for several weeks if left untreated. A combination antibiotic, Bactrim, can treat it.

Pre-washed salad kits and bagged salads from various brands have been identified as common sources of cyclospora contamination in recent years. But cyclosporiasis outbreaks have also been linked to other leafy and soft vegetables, including raspberries, snow peas, and cilantro.

Cyclospora outbreaks are notoriously hard to pin down because symptoms typically take about a week to develop. By that time, it can be hard to pinpoint the specific meal or food that made someone sick. The parasite itself also has more complex genetics than other pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella, which can make traceback efforts even more challenging.

Amira Roess, a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University and a former CDC “disease detective,” said it’s possible the contamination could have been introduced during washing at production facilities or at the farm.

“Typically, it’s the contaminated water that is leading to the contaminated produce,” she said. “In this country, our drinking water is generally not contaminated with parasites. But what is contaminated with parasites is the produce that is exposed to the environmental waters that are contaminated.”

Taylor Farms has recalled onions and salad kits in recent years

Taylor Farms has been involved with multiple food recalls over the past few years.

In 2024, Taylor Farms recalled yellow onions, including some sent to McDonald’s restaurants, over potential E. coli contamination. That E. coli outbreak killed one person and sickened over 100 others across a dozen states, according to the CDC.

Another recall in 2020 focused on onions sold at Kroger and Walmart, some of which were contaminated with Salmonella, the FDA said at the time.

The company has also recalled mislabeled products. Last year, it recalled salad kits that did not disclose that they included soy and sesame, according to the FDA.

• I flew to Tokyo to surprise my parents, who thought they were meeting a free guide.
• Traveling around the city with two 78-year-olds with poor eyesight and vertigo was challenging.
• I learned the hard way to plan longer rest stops, and I also waited in long lines for them.

After three months of keeping the secret, I waited nervously in the hotel lobby.

When they stepped out of the elevator, I put out my hand. “I’m your guide, Ash-san.” My father went to shake it, paused, then said, “Oh, it’s you. What are you doing here?”

When my mom realized who I was, she smacked my hand. “That’s the thanks I get?” I told her, as she cried (tears of joy).

I’d never traveled overseas with them before, but I’d flown from Australia to meet them in Tokyo, where they’d booked a trip after a two-week Japan cruise.

Tokyo is one of the world’s most populated cities, and I knew they’d need help navigating it. After all, this isn’t the obvious choice of travel destination for two 78-year-olds with poor eyesight and vertigo.

So, I offered to arrange a guide for their days in Tokyo, a free one, courtesy of a volunteer program I may have invented.

In the end, I’m glad I was able to experience part of Japan with my parents — but I still learned a few lessons the hard way.

I played ‘Frogger’ with Tokyo traffic, so my parents never had to face a train station

Tokyo is famous for its efficient train system that can take you all over the city and beyond.

However, many of the train stations are a maze of staircases, long tunnels, and rush-hour crowds. Mom cannot see steps well, let alone climb them. So we skipped the trains and took taxis.

That meant a lot of me playing “Frogger” in the hectic traffic, darting between cars to flag a cab. The saving grace is that Japanese drivers are too polite to hit you.

In a taxi, Dad got a seat instead of a handrail. My mom stepped from the door to the curb, with me guiding her over every step she could not see.

When it came to food, I spent hours in queues so my parents didn’t have to

Reservations won’t get you the best food in Tokyo. Typically, you have to queue. So, I stood in line for my parents as much as I could.

I went an hour ahead to Ichiran, my favorite ramen spot, where you sit in a private booth and order from a vending machine before you reach the counter.

I explained the vending machine to my parents three times before eventually giving up and ordering for everyone. The English family behind us watched with amused smiles as their young daughter mastered the machine in seconds.

My parents both said it was the best ramen they’d ever had.

The next morning, I queued for an hour again for the wobbly viral pancakes at A Happy Pancake, which turned a couple of tired parents into a couple of happy ones.

They tried everything I put in front of them. Mom took one bite of mochi, grimaced, and handed it back. Dad loved the curry pan I’d seen go viral on TikTok and posed pulling it apart for the camera, just like the influencers who made it famous.

I wrongfully assumed 15-minute rests would reset everyone

I planned every day around coffee stops and still got it wrong. I thought 15-minute breaks would be long enough, but they never were.

Every stop stretched to nearly an hour, and once a café had WiFi, I’d completely lose them. Both would immediately reach for their phones.

“What’s so important?” I asked. “You don’t even have social media.” They laughed and kept scrolling, exactly like my teenagers do. Apparently, phone addiction isn’t age-specific.

I assumed these longer, frequent stops would cost us half the itinerary. Instead, we made it to everything on their list, including Shibuya Crossing, the world’s busiest pedestrian intersection, where my parents proudly posed for photos before dashing — well, shuffling — to the other side.

At one point during the trip, I said that it had been easier traveling with my twins as toddlers: They cried less and needed fewer naps.

By the end of the trip, I realized I should’ve done this 20 years ago

My parents flew home a day before me. Mom cried getting into the taxi, the same as when she slapped my hand in the lobby. Dad hugged me and said, “We could never have done this trip without you. We would have been stuck in our hotel rooms, overwhelmed.”

My one regret is that I waited so long to travel here with them. I keep thinking if we’d taken the same trip 20 years earlier, the breaks would have been shorter and the walks longer.

And maybe I wouldn’t have had to queue by myself.