Taylor Farms has recalled shredded iceberg lettuce distributed to 27 US states over concerns it could be contaminated with cyclospora, although the company now says the US Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged that an initial positive test result was a false positive.
In a statement shared after the recall was announced, Taylor Farms said the FDA apologized after informing the company that one of its iceberg lettuce products from Central México had a “confirmed positive” test for cyclospora before later determining the result was incorrect.
“Today, we were informed that the FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive. To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora,” the company said.
Taylor Farms said it completed the voluntary recall “in an abundance of caution” based on the FDA’s initial notification and that the recalled products were limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in Central México.
The recalled lettuce was shipped between June 29 and July 16 to Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The company said it is “actively removing” the products, has suspended distribution of iceberg lettuce from Central México to the United States, and is no longer receiving products from the implicated lot.
“Consumers who have purchased the recalled iceberg lettuce should discard it immediately and not consume it,” Taylor Farms said.
The recall notice includes brand abbreviations, product descriptions, and use-by dates, but does not identify specific retailers, restaurants, or product names.
“At this time, Taylor Fresh Foods has not publicly provided distribution information or a list of customers who received the product that was voluntarily removed from the market,” the US Food and Drug Administration said in an update.
Federal health officials have linked a large cyclospora outbreak in the Midwest to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms and served at some Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Taco Bell said it has removed the affected lettuce from its restaurants and nationwide supply chain.
The FDA added that additional states could be included in the investigation as more information becomes available.
Jack in the Box also confirmed that recalled lettuce had been distributed to restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
“At this time, there have been no reported illnesses associated with food served at Jack in the Box in connection with the FDA’s ongoing investigation,” the company said in a statement .
Restaurant distributor Sysco said it had already removed affected Taylor Farms products from its distribution network.
