The parent company of Taco Bell released its quarterly earnings report on Thursday and said that Taco Bell sales fell amid the cyclospora outbreak, though there were early signs of recovery in the last week.

Yum Brands – which operates fast-food chains like KFC and Pizza Hut as well as Taco Bell – said the Mexican-style chain’s sales were down 2% quarter to date through July 27.

“Since the U.S. food safety industry issue became front and center only two weeks ago, we saw maximum impact to sales over the weekend of July 18,” Yum Brands CFO Ranjith Roy said on the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“It is early days, but in the subsequent week, sales declines have moderated materially, and we are seeing steady improvement in day-over-day sales trends,” Roy added.

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Taco Bell’s sales dipped following the cyclospora outbreak, but have shown signs of recovery in the last week. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Roy went on to say in response to an analyst’s question that “if you take the average sales for the last four days, which includes the weekend and the first two days of this week, we are halfway back to sales levels of the prior year.”

The cyclospora outbreak is under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with state and local partners. It has been linked to iceberg lettuce that was sourced from central Mexico through Taylor Farms de Mexico.

Taylor Farms’ U.S. business initiated a voluntary recall that also included iceberg lettuce sold under the Taylor Fresh Foods and Marketside brands. The company has noted that the FDA hasn’t identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora after a false positive was reported by the agency.

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Cyclospora cases with exposure to Taco Bell have been reported in nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Yum Brands CEO Christopher Turner said that “our top priority is, and always will be, the safety and well-being of our consumers. With respect to the consumer sentiment, though, we’ve seen real improvement as consumers have understood better the nature of the issue and they understand that it is not a Taco Bell-specific issue.”

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Taco Bell removed potentially affected lettuce from a supplier after the FDA linked it to a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Turner added that there’s “been no change in our measures of brand love” and that some of those metrics have seen growth in positivity, while Taco Bell’s share of the conversation around food safety has declined.

“The best proof point is that consumers are coming back to the restaurants on a steady basis. We’ve seen steady improvement in those sales trends,” he said, noting that the chain’s Tuesday release of a Mexican pizza special drove the most transactions and loyalty acquisitions of any Taco Bell Tuesday drop.

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“There is no brand and no team better equipped to drive a recovery in this temporary sales impact than Taco Bell,” he added.

Ocoopa Direct is recalling about 1.5 million rechargeable hand warmers following hundreds of burn injuries and one reported death.

The lithium-ion batteries in the recalled products can overheat and catch fire, posing a risk of “serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards,” according to a notice Thursday from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Ocoopa Direct has received 1,480 reports of the hand warmers overheating, including 15 fires and 350 burn injuries, the CPSC said.

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Ocoopa Direct has received 1,480 reports of the hand warmers overheating, including 15 fires and 350 burn injuries, the CPSC said. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

An 83-year-old consumer in San Diego died in February after an incident involving one of the hand warmers, according to the agency.

The recall covers Ocoopa rechargeable hand warmers with model numbers UT3053, UT3056, ZLS-118, ZLS-118S, ZLS-118D, H01 and H01(PD). 

The hand warmers were sold in various colors and designs, according to the CPSC.

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The lithium-ion batteries in the hand warmers can overheat and catch fire, posing a risk of “serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards.” (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

“The dual-sided, rechargeable hand warmers were sold in varying colors and designs, in packs of two warmers that can magnetically be joined and with a charging cable,” the announcement noted.

The products were sold online through Amazon, Ocoopa and Walmart between September 2018 and May 2026 for $15 to $60.

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The products were sold online through Amazon, Ocoopa.net and Walmart.com between September 2018 and May 2026 for $15 to $60. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

“Consumers should stop using the recalled hand warmers immediately and contact OCOOPA Direct for a full refund in the form of an Ocoopa gift card or the original form of payment,” the announcement said.

The CPSC also warned consumers not to throw the recalled products in the trash or place them in regular recycling or battery collection bins.

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For more information about the recalled products, visit the CPSC’s website.

FOX Business reached out to Ocoopa Direct for comment.

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Water companies have performance commitments on issues such as leakage.

It is illegal to release raw sewage into rivers and seas during “normal” weather conditions, but firms are allowed to do so when it rains heavily, to prevent homes being flooded.

Thames is the UK’s largest water company, supplying water and wastewater services to 16 million customers across London and parts of southern England.

Speaking to the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast, Weston said the company treats 4.3 billion litres of waste a day, and “99.5% of the time” it gets treated successfully, although “sometimes something goes wrong”.

“We want to do better when it comes to pollutions,” he said, but added, “the targets that the company is expected to make are not realistic.

“[For example], we have to hit a certain level of leakage, but it is so far in excess of what we are capable of doing, I think anyone would be capable of doing, however much money you invested, that it is not going to be achievable.”

The chance of getting to zero pollution was “very, very slim”, he added.

Ofwat told the BBC: “With around a fifth of water put into supply still lost through leakage, companies must deliver on the commitments they have been funded to achieve.

“Water company targets are intended to be ambitious and drive better outcomes for customers and the environment.”

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “[We] and the public expect Thames Water to comply with the law,” adding that the agency would continue to hold companies to account where performance falls short.

James Wallace, chief executive of campaign group River Action, said: “Thames Water’s tactics of opacity and deflection fool no-one. Telling the public to save water while this wasteful profit-obsessed corporation leaks 570 million litres of treated drinking water every day is offensive.

“There is nothing ‘realistic’ about accepting sewage pollution as inevitable. The choice is simple: keep propping up a failed privatised financial model, or put Thames Water into special administration and rebuild it as a public utility serving customers, rivers and the public.”