FDA sparks more confusion over ‘explosive diarrhea’ parasite as they try to walk back source of outbreak

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The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday reversed course on its earlier claim linking a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak to lettuce produced by Taylor Farms, deepening confusion around a gastrointestinal illness that has sickened thousands.

“Today, FDA apologized to us,” Taylor Farms said in a Sunday statement. The California-based company said the agency had informed it a day earlier that a sample of its iceberg lettuce from Mexico tested positive for cyclospora, the microscopic parasite that causes cyclosporiasis when ingested. Acting out of an “abundance of caution,” Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico.

But by Sunday, the FDA had changed its assessment. In an updated statement, the agency said its initial detection of cyclospora on Taylor Farms lettuce was a “false positive.”

“FDA and state partners continue to collect and analyze product samples,” the agency said. “As of July 19, 2026, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora.”

As of July 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was investigating nearly 7,000 confirmed and suspected cases of cyclosporiasis nationwide. State-level data, however, suggests a far broader spread, with Michigan alone reporting more than 5,000 cases.

Taylor Farms said that the FDA apologized after the health agency walked back a statement linking the Cyclospora parasite to a lettuce sample. The FDA blamed it on a ‘false positive.’ (Getty Images)

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