Federal agencies begin onsite sampling in Guanajuato
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that cyclosporiasis cases have reached 9,481 across 17 states, most of them beginning before July 17. Two states — Maine and Massachusetts — were added to the tally since the previous week’s update. The other affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina.
“FDA remains confident that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to this specific Cyclospora outbreak is off the market,” the agency said Thursday. “FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak.”
Including the current outbreak, the CDC has registered reports of 13,895 cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1, and is also tracking at least 10,455 additional cases of Cyclospora infection requiring further investigation and analysis.
The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that they have “initiated an onsite inspection and sampling” at Taylor Farms de Mexico’s facility in Guanajuato, about 185 miles northwest of Mexico City. Taylor Farms, based in Salinas, California, voluntarily recalled all iceberg lettuce from that area on July 17, including shredded lettuce used in Taco Bell products and in salad kits sold in some grocery stores. Taco Bell said it was removing shredded lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms in affected states.
The outbreak has drawn demands from Democratic lawmakers for answers from Taylor Farms and the Trump administration. On July 27, Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat who is the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called on Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor to explain his company’s role in the outbreak and whether it “used its political donations and White House connections to interfere with the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation into the contaminated food supply.”
“Evidence points to Taylor Farms products as a source of the outbreak, but reports indicate that your company may have attempted to influence the ongoing [FDA] investigation into the matter, obfuscate Taylor Farms’ role in a public health crisis, and mislead consumers trying to keep their families safe,” Garcia wrote.
On Wednesday, the Food Safety Coalition, a group including consumers, scientists and government watchdogs, urged Senate Republicans to rescind a measure instituted last year that “prevents the [FDA] from implementing traceability requirements for high-risk foods, including leafy greens, until July 2028.” The hobbled traceability rules, the coalition said, has contributed to “a crisis in consumer confidence, in part due to Taylor Farms’ failure to provide information to the public required under the FDA rule in its recall communications.”