The Food and Drug Administration said it still believes the explosive diarrhea parasite that has gripped the nation originated at Taylor Farms in Mexico — and officials insisted they did not apologize to the company.
The announcement Monday comes came after Taylor Farms, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of fresh greens, claimed the FDA issued a mea culpa about a false positive test for the cyclospora.
But the FDA pushed back.
“The recent false positive results do not change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation,” the agency said at a Monday press conference.
Regulators emphasized that the investigation still points toward the Mexican produce supplier as the most likely origin of the dangerous outbreak.
Here’s the latest on the ‘explosive’ cyclosporiasis outbreak:
The agency informed Taylor Farms of its false positive test but emphasized that the company is still recalling the potentially tainted lettuce sold to Americans at grocery stores and Taco Bell restaurants.
Cyclospora is a parasite, not bacteria, meaning it is thus far more difficult to detect in a lab.
But other investigative methods are still sound, the agency insisted.
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