FDA Detects Cyclospora at Mexican Farm Tied to 13,000-Case US Outbreak
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 3
FDA Detects Cyclospora at Mexican Farm Tied to 13,000-Case US Outbreak
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 3
Summary
FDA inspectors found cyclospora in a wastewater tank and a drainage ditch used for lettuce cultivation at the Guanajuato farm tied to the biggest US outbreak of the parasite.
The agency said it still cannot determine how the lettuce became contaminated, but called the samples strong epidemiological evidence linking the site to the outbreak.
Nearly 13,000 people in 21 states were infected before the CDC declared the outbreak over last month; 570 were hospitalized and two died.
Taylor Farms said the contamination involved an independent grower no longer in its supplier program, and that its central Mexico facility remains closed while it adds safety protocols.
The finding also sharpens a cross-border dispute after Mexico's food safety authority reported no cyclospora at the facility and the FDA earlier retracted a faulty positive lettuce test.