FDA says Taylor Farms Cyclospora lettuce test was a false positive

The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that a Taylor Farms lettuce sample initially reported as positive for Cyclospora should be considered a false positive following an additional laboratory review.

“Due to the complexity in detection of Cyclospora, FDA laboratory experts re-reviewed the sample results and have concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive,” the agency said.

The FDA said no product samples had produced a confirmed positive result for Cyclospora as of Sunday.

TAYLOR FARMS LETTUCE SAMPLE TESTS POSITIVE FOR CYCLOSPORA AS RECALL EXPANDS

Taylor Fresh Foods said the FDA informed the company that the initial result was incorrect.

“To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora,” the company said in a statement.

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Taylor Fresh Foods also said the FDA apologized to the company over the erroneous result. The FDA did not include an apology in the agency language provided with the story.

The FDA said it notified Taylor Farms of the revised finding and continues to work with the company and its Taylor Farms de Mexico operation to ensure products implicated in the investigation have been removed from the market. The agency and its state partners are continuing to collect and analyze product samples.

Taylor Farms initiated a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17 after federal investigators traced lettuce served at certain Taco Bell restaurants to Taylor Farms de Mexico. The recall includes iceberg lettuce distributed to retail stores, restaurants and other food-service customers.

“Based on initial information provided by health officials, in an abundance of caution, we completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico,” the statement continued. “Recalled product was limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico. All other Taylor Farms products, including all Taylor Farms brand products available for purchase, are not involved in the recall.”

This comes after the FDA said on Saturday that a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms tested positive for Cyclospora, which has sickened thousands of people across the U.S.

Cyclosporiasis has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, leading to around 100 hospitalizations so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths have been reported.