New FDA Twist Leaves New York’s Parasitic Diarrhea Unsolved

Federal health investigators are back to square one today after a shocking update in the investigation into a widespread stomach parasite.

There is a major twist in that massive nationwide parasite outbreak that's causing intense diarrhea.

Lettuce Sample From Taylor Farms Tested Negative

Benjamin Fanjoy, Getty Images

The FDA now admits that a lettuce sample from Taylor Farms which originally tested positive for the cyclospora bug was actually a false positive.

Taylor Farms said on Friday it was voluntarily recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico after it was linked to the current outbreak of gastrointestinal issues.

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The recall impacts shredded lettuce and salad kits distributed across 27 states with "Best if Used By" dates ranging from July 18 to August 3, 2026.

This includes products supplied to Taco Bell locations in the Midwest and Marketside-branded salads sold at Walmart.

True Source Of Outbreak Is Once Again A Mystery

Benjamin Fanjoy, Getty Images

The FDA said Sunday that after further review, no samples have tested positive for the parasite.

"Today, FDA apologized to us," Taylor Farms said in a statement late Sunday. "Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico tested positive for cyclospora. Today, we were informed that 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."

While Taylor Farms has already pulled its central Mexico iceberg lettuce from the market, the true source of the outbreak is once again a mystery.

As of this writing, nearly 7,000 confirmed or suspected cases have been identified across 34 states, including over 500 in New York.

CDC

The CDC has laboratory-confirmed 1,645 domestic cases, but has noted that over 5,100 additional reported illnesses are still awaiting final analysis.

At least 141 people have been hospitalized nationwide. No deaths have been reported.

Experts say it could still take weeks to find the true culprit.

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