FDA Keeps Taylor Farms Lettuce Recall Active Despite Retracted Lab Result

The Food and Drug Administration stated on July 20 that a laboratory test appearing to confirm cyclospora in Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce was a false positive. The agency issued the clarification after the company posted on X the previous day that the FDA had apologized.

An FDA official told reporters that the agency had instead provided factual information about testing challenges rather than an official apology.

The FDA posted on X that the false-positive lab sample does not change the basis for its ongoing outbreak investigation or the epidemiological data supporting the recall. Taylor Farms issued the voluntary recall on July 17 for iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico. The product reached 27 states and included items supplied to Taco Bell and Walmart.

Epidemiological data continue to link the lettuce to cyclosporiasis cases across at least five states. The company met with White House and FDA officials on July 16 to discuss what it called shortfalls in the government response. Taylor Farms stated that the FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora.

Since May, thousands of people have been sickened with cyclosporiasis nationwide. Michigan authorities have counted 6,148 cases in that state. The FDA emphasized that the recall and investigation remain active despite the retracted laboratory result.