A top Food and Drug Administration official has claimed responsibility for the outbreak, which has caused thousands to spread plagued by explosive diarrhea has been ‘effectively removed from the market’.
However, confusion remains among the American public as the source of the pathogen, cyclospora, has never been definitively confirmed by a positive pathogen test.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said this week that the U.S. has “the safest food supply in the world,” adding that people “need to feel confident eating fresh produce, including leafy greens, right now.”
The outbreak of cyclospora, which causes cyclosporiasis, was first identified in July and linked to shredded lettuce served at certain Taco Bell locations.
Taco Bell then stopped using lettuce in its menu items.
Shortly thereafter, supplier Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled the iceberg lettuce it had grown Mexico that the CDC and the FDA said it was linked to the outbreak.
However, it was subsequently revealed that the positive test result for cyclospora in a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms was a false positive.
Pictured above is a Taylor Farms location in Salinas, California last month. While samples of the corporate lettuce initially tested positive for the pathogen cyclospora, subsequent testing revealed this to be a false positive result
Lettuce was first mentioned as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, but confusion remains because the source has never been definitively confirmed by a positive pathogen test (stock image)
The company has stated that no further testing of its products detected the pathogen.
Despite this, Diamantas said in a interview tells CNBC that the FDA is “confident that iceberg lettuce from central Mexico was the culprit.”
No other possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak has been named or confirmed, leaving consumers confused about what is safe to eat and what is not, despite reassurances from health leaders.
Diamantas added that the FDA “remains confident that all iceberg lettuce associated with the cyclospora outbreak has been effectively removed from the market.”
The Department of Health and Human Services followed suit via social media after: ‘Cyclospora: contained, American food: safe.’
As of August 11, the CDC has reported 13,895 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1, with an additional 10,455 suspected cases.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, pictured above, said this week that the US has ‘the safest food supply in the world’
The map above shows where cases of cyclosporiasis have been reported
Forty-seven states and Washington DC are reporting cases and there have been 740 hospitalizations.
Two deaths among residents of Michigan, which has been hardest hit by the pathogen, have been linked to the outbreak.
The FDA and CDC said their investigation is ongoing and the number of cases is expected to rise because it takes several weeks to link an illness to a recall or outbreak.
In addition to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, the FDA is also responding to a salmonella outbreak linked to jalapenos, and this week Taylor Farms has issued another recall for salsa, dip and guacamole products containing the peppers.
