Cyclosporiasis cases climb; probe into Taylor Farms produce continues after false positive
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Set us as preferred A recent sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms that detected the cyclosporiasis parasite was a false positive, federal officials say, but there is still “overwhelming” data to support the California-based company’s current recall of produce amid the outbreak.On X, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration stated, “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.” Over the weekend, the company, based in Salinas, said the FDA informed them that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico tested positive for cyclosporiasis, a parasite that can cause extreme diarrhea in humans.
On Sunday, the company was informed the FDA made a mistake, “and this was a false positive,” the company said.Regardless, the FDA’s traceback investigation and outbreak data — that’s linked to shredded lettuce supplied to Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia — continues to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico.The regulatory agency said it continues to work with Taylor Farms, which also operates as Taylor Fresh Foods, to ensure “product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market.” The FDA’s investigation is focused on products from Taylor Farms de Mexico, however, no samples from the farm have yet come back positive for the cyclosporiasis parasite.On Friday, the company voluntarily pulled its iceberg lettuce grown and processed in its Central Mexico facility, Taylor Farms de Mexico, from the United States market.
“While the FDA traceback is indicating a specific independent farm, which represents less than 1% of the U.S.’s iceberg lettuce supp...