July 19 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday defended publicizing a lettuce sample later found to be a false positive for cyclospora, saying the reversal does not undermine its investigation into a five-state outbreak tied to Taylor Farms lettuce from central Mexico.
The FDA on Saturday had said that a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms tested positive for the parasite that has sickened thousands of people in the U.S. But on Sunday, it called that a false positive after a re-review.
As of Sunday, there were no confirmed positive sample results for cyclospora, the FDA added.
A spokesperson for Taylor Fresh Foods told Reuters that the company was informed the FDA made a mistake.
“To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora,” the company said.
Taylor Fresh Foods added that it had completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico as a precaution based on the initial information given.
The FDA in its latest update said it has “notified Taylor Farms and continues working with the firm to ensure the product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market.”
The company had earlier confirmed that the product was not part of its current recall, according to the FDA.
Cyclosporiasis has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Yum Brands’ Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. It has so far resulted in around 100 hospitalizations and no deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast and Deepa Babington)
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