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Taylor Farms said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) apologized after tests of lettuce from the company’s supplier resulted in a “false positive” for cyclospora. However, an FDA official said the FDA did not issue an official apology to Taylor Farms. Rather, they notified Taylor Farms of the result and explained how it could occur.
It came after Taylor Farms—a global produce supplier based in California—expanded a voluntary recall on Friday of its iceberg lettuce products sourced from central Mexico because of a potential link to an outbreak of cyclospora, a diarrhea-causing parasite that has sickened people across the United States.
The FDA had earlier said that its investigation had identified a single supplier (Taylor Farms de Mexico) of iceberg lettuce that was used by Taco Bell locations in five states—Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia—where people who became sick had eaten. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned people not to eat food with lettuce from that supplier at Taco Bell restaurants in those five Midwestern states.
But on Sunday, the FDA and Taylor Farms announced that testing of lettuce from the supplier had produced a false positive and the agency had not identified any positive test results for cyclospora.
However, on Monday afternoon, the FDA stressed that the false positive did not change the “overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”
“Over the weekend, FDA alerted Taylor Farms that a new sample of shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico tested positive for Cyclospora during import examination at the Southern Border,” FDA posted on X.
“This ended up being a false positive, and Taylor Farms was alerted to the corrective test result Sunday. FDA’s traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico. FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak and ensure products implicated in this outbreak have been removed from the market. Protecting the American public remains our highest priority. We encourage the public to continue to avoid all products listed in Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall.”
“Today, FDA apologized to us,” Taylor Fresh Foods, the parent company of Taylor Farms, told Newsweek in a statement on Sunday.
“Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico tested positive for cyclospora. Today, we were informed that FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive. To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.”
In another statement on Monday, Taylor Farms said it understood there was “significant confusion over outbreak communication.”
It said a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico that was identified as the potential source of the Cyclospora outbreak had been completed. It added no Taylor Farms-branded products were involved in the recall.
It said it will no longer source iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico for the remainder of the growing season and said experts are on site investigating the potential sources of contamination.
The statement added: “We are committed to working closely with health officials during this ongoing investigation.”
The FDA said in a statement on Sunday: “FDA is providing an update regarding the sample of lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico which was reported positive on July 18, 2026.
“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 added: “FDA has notified Taylor Farms and continues working with the firm to ensure product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market.”
The FDA added that as of Sunday there had been “no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora.”
Newsweek reached out to the FDA for further comment via a message sent through an online contact form.
Taylor Farms Recalls Products
On Sunday, Taylor Farms said it had completed a voluntary recall “based on initial information provided by health officials.” The company’s recall announcement on Friday said it was limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico.
Products included in the recall were shipped to 27 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Jersey, between June 29 and July 16 with “best by” dates as late as August 3, the announcement said. It listed 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes.
“The company has stopped receiving product from the implicated lot, suspended distribution of the iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, notified our customers, and we are continuing to work with the FDA, CDC, and state authorities,” the company said.
On Thursday, ahead of the federal government’s confirmation, Taco Bell issued a statement saying that it would “voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states.”
Taco Bell said on Friday that it has “completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants. Based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution, Taco Bell worked swiftly to voluntarily remove the product from restaurants and the affected ingredient has been removed from our supply chain nationwide. We took this action to ensure our guests can enjoy their Taco Bell favorites safely.”
But the FDA has said other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be linked to the outbreak as the investigation continues.
Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor’s Political Donations Questioned
Questions have been raised on social media about political donations made by Taylor Farms and its CEO, Bruce Taylor, as the company remains at the center of a growing Cyclospora outbreak investigation.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, Bruce Taylor has personally donated $400,000 in 2025 and 2026, spread across several Republican-aligned PACs, including $100,000 to NRSC Victory, which is affiliated with the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Taylor also donated $100,000 to the Cornyn Victory Committee, affiliated with Republican Senator John Cornyn, and $5,000 to Texans for a Conservative Majority, among others. He also donated $2,500 to Western Growers Political Action Committee, a bipartisan PAC representing the fresh produce industry.
In March 2025, Taylor Fresh Foods contributed $1 million to MAGA, Inc., a super-PAC that supported President Donald Trump during the 2024 election.
The scrutiny comes amid confusion over the FDA’s investigation after the agency briefly reported, then retracted, a positive cyclospora test from a Taylor Farms product, saying the result was a false positive. Despite that reversal, the FDA said it still has epidemiological evidence linking Taylor Farms to the outbreak and continues to advise consumers not to eat certain Taylor Farms products.
What Is Cyclospora?
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC.
Cases of cyclosporiasis, the gastrointestinal illness caused by the parasite, have surged in recent months, with more than 30 states reporting cases this year. More than 5,000 cases have been reported in Michigan, which has emerged as the hardest-hit state.
But not every illness may have been caused by the same source, and the CDC said on Saturday that it was investigating other outbreaks across the country said to be unrelated to the outbreak in the five Midwestern states.
The CDC said it has received reports of 1,645 laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis from 34 states as of July 13, with 141 hospitalizations and no deaths. The agency is also investigating more than 5,000 additional illnesses that may be linked to the parasite.
The CDC has noted that state data “may include both probable and confirmed cases, which in turn is likely to reflect a higher case count than the CDC surveillance data because initial case reports have not yet been reported to CDC.”
What Can Consumers Do?
Consumers should continue taking precautions with fresh produce, including by discarding outer layers of fruits and vegetables, rinsing produce thoroughly, being cautious with pre-washed or pre-cut produce and avoiding cross-contamination.
They are also advised to prioritize cooking. The FDA says cooking produce to at least 158°F (70°C) is the safest option, since the parasite cannot survive at elevated temperatures.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick, Matthew Robinson, Tony Phillips, Gray R. Thomas
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