Story perspectives

FDA Review Ordered After False-Positive Cyclospora Test Triggers Lettuce Recall

7/25/2026

Summary

Taylor Farms Recall

The FDA added a cyclospora outbreak investigation on July 22, reporting 72 cases with no source identified.
The CDC has recorded 4,173 cyclosporiasis cases since May 1 2026 and is tracking over 7,400 cases.
Taylor Farms recalled all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico on July 17 after a false-positive FDA test was corrected, a product that has sickened 1,947 people in nine states and caused 98 hospitalizations.

Summary

Yiannas Demands Review

FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas called for a review of the outbreak response, citing weak leadership.
Yiannas said the FDA’s July 19 false-positive test was “rare” and demanded disclosure of its cause and prevention.
Budget cuts at CDC and FDA have shifted outbreak-response costs to states.
USDA delayed the high-risk food traceability deadline to July 2028, closed its Beltsville, Maryland, cyclospora lab and disbanded the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria in Food.

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Taylor Farms Recall

The FDA added a cyclospora outbreak investigation on July 22, reporting 72 cases with no source identified.
The CDC has recorded 4,173 cyclosporiasis cases since May 1 2026 and is tracking over 7,400 cases.
Taylor Farms recalled all iceberg lettuce from central Mexico on July 17 after a false-positive FDA test was corrected, a product that has sickened 1,947 people in nine states and caused 98 hospitalizations.

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