SALINAS — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has informed Salinas-based Taylor Farms that a laboratory test indicating one of the company’s iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico was contaminated with cyclospora was a false positive, according to the company and an updated FDA advisory.
Taylor Farms said Sunday that the FDA apologized after initially notifying the company July 18 that one of its products had tested positive for the parasite.
“Today, we were informed that FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive,” the company said in a statement. “To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.”
The FDA confirmed Sunday that, after re-reviewing the laboratory results, experts determined the finding “should be considered a false positive” because of the complexity of detecting cyclospora. The agency said there are currently no confirmed positive product test results for the parasite, but the outbreak investigation remains ongoing.
Taylor Farms, also known as Taylor Fresh Foods, said it had already completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico “in an abundance of caution” based on the initial information from health officials. The company said the recall was limited to iceberg lettuce from central Mexico and does not involve any other Taylor Farms products, including Taylor Farms branded products currently available.
The FDA’s investigation continues to focus on a multistate outbreak of cyclospora illnesses linked through epidemiological evidence to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five states — Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. No California cases have been identified as part of the investigation.
Federal health officials said they are continuing to collect and analyze product samples while working with the company to ensure recalled products have been removed from the market.
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes an intestinal illness known as cyclosporiasis. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms can include watery diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach cramps, bloating, nausea, fatigue and weight loss. Symptoms typically begin about a week after consuming contaminated food or water.
“Our thoughts remain with everyone who has fallen ill in this outbreak,” Taylor Farms said. “We are committed to working with public health authorities as the ongoing outbreak investigation continues.”
