Inside in the face of rampant diarrhea, the Food and Drug Administration and lettuce supplier Taylor Farms appear to be locked in a passive-aggressive battle over technical details.
On July 17, the California-based company voluntarily recalled iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. The drug recall came after people in at least five states became ill with cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection that causes explosive diarrhea.
The next day, the FDA he said that it detected the parasite in a sample of Taylor Farms lettuce that was not included in the initial recall. A day later This, the company and the FDA concluded that the result was in fact a false positive.
“Today the FDA apologized to us” Then on July 19, Taylor Farms posted to its X account.
However, the FDA did not fully agree with this interpretation. On July 20, an agency official told reporters that it had not offered the company an “official apology.” Instead, the official said, “we mostly provided fact-based information” about how tough it is to detect and trace the sources of cyclospora outbreaks.
The agency stressed that the recall, which covers 27 states and includes some lettuce sold to Taco Bell and Walmart, is still in effect. “To be clear, this false positive laboratory sample does NOT change the basis of the ongoing FDA investigation into the outbreak or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting Taylor Farms’ current voluntary product recall.” was published on X.
In its July 19 post, Taylor Farms also wrote that the FDA “has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.” While this is true, it eliminates the difficulty of accurately testing for the presence of the parasite.
Many foodborne illness investigators are determining the source of the outbreak without product testing. Instead, researchers apply epidemiological evidence, such as interviews with people who have tested positive, to determine commonalities.
Taylor Farms is reportedly questioning how the FDA and CDC conducted a week-long investigation into the source of the outbreak. A spokesman told The New York Times. that the company met with the White House and FDA officials last week to discuss what it called “deficiencies” in the government organizations’ response processes. The Times reported that during a July 16 meeting, the day before the Taylor Farms recall, Taylor Farms executives tried to cast doubt on the conclusions of the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Taylor Farms did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment.
Thousands of people have been sickened by cyclosporosis since May as health officials try to determine the source of the outbreak. Michigan authorities say they have counted 6,148 cases in the state alone, although experts previously told WIRED that the number of cases nationwide is likely higher than reported.