The FDA Says It Didn't Apologize to Supplier Linked to Diarrhea Outbreak, Actually
The FDA and Taylor Farms are in a dispute over whether the agency issued an apology regarding a false-positive test result for a parasite in lettuce. While the company claims an apology was made, the FDA maintains it only provided factual information and that the recall remains necessary.
Why it matters
Public trust in food safety investigations is vital, and conflicting narratives between regulators and suppliers can cause confusion during health crises.
On July 17, the California-based company issued a voluntary recall on iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico. The recall came after people across at least five states were sickened with cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection that causes explosive diarrhea.
The next day, the FDA said that it had detected the parasite in a sample of Taylor Farms lettuce that wasn’t part of the initial recall. The day after that, the company and the FDA said that the result was actually a false positive.
“Today, the FDA apologized to us,” Taylor Farms then posted on its X account on July 19.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in