On Monday (July 20), Taylor Farms claimed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had apologized for incorrectly linking the fruit and vegetable producer as the source of lettuce that caused a cyclosporiasis outbreak throughout the nation. The statement left many feeling suspicious, as the company has supported President Donald Trump in the past.
The company referred to a sample of lettuce taken from Taylor Farms de Mexico. A previous test had detected the parasite, but further testing by the agency said that it “concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive.”
Taylor Farms’ statement read in part, “Today, we were informed that the FDA made a mistake and this was a false positive,” adding, “To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.
It concluded, “Our thoughts remain with everyone who has fallen ill in this outbreak. We are committed to working with public health authorities as the ongoing outbreak investigation continues.”
Taylor Farms began a voluntary recall of all lettuce products grown and processed in central Mexico on July 17. Officials from the California-based company were spotted at the White House last Thursday, according to reports.
To date, the cyclosporasis outbreak has led to over 1,600 cases of people being affected, with 94 people needing hospitalizaton in multiple states. Taco Bell has stopped using that lettuce at stores in five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. This was based on interviews with those who had gotten sick after eating from stores in those states.
Taylor Farms lettuce products were also sold in 29 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Taylor Farms backtracked on their initial statement due to the social media concern, but that didn’t stop observers from highlighting their ties to President Donald Trump, and raising questions on if the administration is helping them to cover up their potential role as the source of the outbreak.
1. Jenn Kauffman
