Taylor Farms CEO breaks silence over explosive diarrhea outbreak as class-action lawsuit filed

The CEO of the California produce giant linked to the diarrhea-inducing parasite exploding across the country is speaking out after his company was hit with a class-action lawsuit over the outbreak.The multi-state spread of cyclosporiasis, which is being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, has been “linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico,” according to the FDA.Bruce Taylor, chief executive of the Salinas-based company, spoke out about the farm being named as the source of the explosive diarrhea outbreak after expressing frustration to lawmakers about “being excluded from the outbreak investigation process,” according to Forbes.“Americans are afraid and avoiding healthy fresh food to their own detriment,” Taylor said.The cross-country outbreak has infected thousands of patients who were hit with cyclospora linked to lettuce served at Taco Bell, the Food and Drug Administration revealed on July 17.In the report, the agency said a traceback investigation “identified convergence on a single supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, that provided shredded iceberg lettuce used by Taco Bell locations where sick people ate before becoming ill.”However, the FDA then reported a false positive in a lettuce sample from the produce giant.“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,” the FDA wrote on its website.“FDA’s traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms from growers in central Mexico.We encourage the public to continue to avoid all products listed in Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall.”Taco Bell removed affected Taylor Farms lettuce from its restaurants.

Meanwhile, Taylor Farms issued an extensive voluntary rec...