U.S. health agency now says cyclospora finding at produce company was false positive

U.S. health agency now says cyclospora finding at produce company was false positive

FDA had said lettuce from Taylor Farms tested positive for parasite behind outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on ‌Sunday that laboratory experts rechecked lettuce sample results ​in the Taylor Farms ​cyclospora investigation and concluded the finding ​should be considered ⁠a ⁠false ‌positive.

As of Sunday, there were no ⁠confirmed positive sample results for cyclospora, the FDA ‌added.

The FDA on Saturday had said that a ​sample of shredded iceberg ⁠lettuce supplied by Taylor ⁠Farms has ⁠tested ⁠positive ​for the parasitic illness that ​has sickened ⁠thousands of people in the U.S.

Taylor Fresh Foods said Sunday 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 in a statement.

Taylor Fresh Foods added that it had completed a voluntary recall of iceberg ‌lettuce from central Mexico out of an abundance of caution 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 product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market."

Taylor Farms had ‌earlier confirmed that the product was not part of its current recall, according to the FDA.

What is cyclospora? A diarrhea-causing parasite

Cyclosporiasis, ​which has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Yum ⁠Brands Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio ⁠and West Virginia has so far resulted in around ⁠100 ⁠hospitalizations and no ​deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The ​lettuce, which ⁠the FDA said late on Thursday came from Mexico, was produced as five-pound (2.3 kilogram) bags at Taylor Farms' facility in Guanajuato, Mexico, a source told Reuters.