Taylor Farms was identified as the source of the lettuce-related diarrhea outbreak in the United States. It is the main supplier of lettuce to the fast-food chain Taco Bell, and its cooperation with federal authorities on the matter led to a series of unintentionally funny responses. The test results for cyclospora, the parasite causing problems in fresh produce, were reported as false positives over the weekend.
It’s not the good news you think it is—especially for Taylor Farms, which could face lawsuits similar to how Taco Bell has been legally targeted over the past few weeks. The FDA clarified what the result means, adding that all their trace investigations point to Taylor Farms’ central Mexican lettuce fields [emphasis mine].
To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) July 20, 2026
Over the weekend, FDA alerted Taylor Farms that a new sample of… https://t.co/hedRwhPLd8
Just to clarify, because everyone now seems VERY confused:
— Helena Bottemiller Evich (@hbottemiller) July 20, 2026
Taylor Farms de Mexico has still been implicated in this cyclospora outbreak. The recall of shredded iceberg lettuce from last week still stands.
The false positive test was on lettuce coming over the border from… https://t.co/RwKSQliMle
To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.
Over the weekend, FDA alerted Taylor Farms that a new sample of shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico tested positive for Cyclospora during import examination at the Southern Border. This ended up being a false positive, and Taylor Farms was alerted to the corrective test result Sunday.
FDA’s traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico. FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak and ensure products implicated in this outbreak have been removed from the market.
The messaging and reporting on this outbreak are as messy as diarrhea. You’d think the national media could cover explosive diarrhea accurately, but no. Taylor Farms is still in the crosshairs.