Watch Video: Confusion around cyclosporiasis outbreak as RFK Jr. tries to calm concerns As the cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce spread to nine states, Americans have dubbed the health concern “lettuce-gate” on social media, and they aren’t convinced the situation is under control. Days after Health Secretary Robert F.
tried to calm growing concerns about the parasitic illness, saying that the source of the outbreak has been identified and companies involved have implemented a recall, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced hundreds more have been infected with cyclospora — bringing the nationwide total to 1,947 as of Friday. At least 98 hospitalizations have been reported, but no deaths have been reported, according to the CDC. “Is anyone else, like, deathly afraid to eat lettuce right now?” one person asked in a video posted on TikTok.
Health officials believe the affected iceberg lettuce came from a Taylor Farms facility located in central Mexico. In a new statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for Taylor Farms said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not confirmed positive results from cyclospora testing of its product samples as of Friday.
“When questions were raised about the source of the recent Cyclospora outbreak, we immediately removed all potentially implicated product from the marketplace, and out of an abundance of caution we issued an even broader recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from the region,” the spokesperson said. Taylor Farms also said it voluntarily suspended all iceberg lettuce sourcing and production from central Mexico. The company supplied its lettuce to Taco Bell, which said it removed the affected products from its restaurants.
The Mexican government on Friday also said its tests found no evidence of the parasite at Taylor Farms. The country’s Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks said it tested 10 lettuce samples as well as four water samples. More confusion sparked last week when the FDA announced that a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms that had tested positive for cyclospora was a false positive.
But the FDA said Monday that its investigation and data “continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico.” While illnesses have been confirmed in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Michi… Americans say they aren't convinced the cyclospora outbreak is under control as confirmed cases near 2,000.
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