The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that it continues to investigate shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms' facilities in central Mexico as the source of a multistate cyclospora outbreak. The update follows the FDA’s retraction of a laboratory test result that had incorrectly identified the parasite on a sample of the company's lettuce. The agency initially posted the positive finding on Saturday before declaring it a false positive on Sunday.
While Taylor Farms stated on social media that the FDA apologized for the error, agency officials said no official apology was issued. Donald Prater, the FDA’s acting food chief, stated that despite the faulty test, traceback investigations and outbreak data still point toward the supplier. Taylor Farms previously recalled 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products on Saturday across eight brand codes used by various food chains.
The outbreak has sickened at least 1,645 people and resulted in 141 hospitalizations across the United States this year. Five separate clusters are currently under investigation. Health officials noted that foot traffic at several major restaurant chains, including Taco Bell and Chopt, has declined following reports linking the parasite to lettuce served at certain locations. Cyclospora is a parasite typically spread through contaminated water used for irrigation or processing.