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The FDA detected Cyclospora in a wastewater tank at Taylor Farms de Mexico’s lettuce processing facility and in a drainage ditch at a contract grower’s farm in Central Mexico. The findings add environmental evidence to the investigation of a summer outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce, but the agency says it has not established how contamination occurred.
The Food and Drug Administration found Cyclospora in a wastewater tank at Taylor Farms de Mexico’s lettuce processing facility and in a drainage ditch at a grower’s farm in Central Mexico, adding environmental evidence to the investigation of a summer outbreak linked to the company’s iceberg lettuce. The FDA said the samples show the parasite was present in areas where lettuce was processed and grown, but do not establish how contamination occurred.
The FDA’s findings, reported on October 2, came from sampling conducted during an investigation involving multiple iceberg lettuce growers and the Taylor Farms processing facility in Mexico. The agency worked with Mexican officials and collected samples of water, soil, sediment and iceberg lettuce. Two samples tested positive: one from a tank holding wastewater leaving the processing facility and another from a drainage ditch at a farm identified in the agency’s traceback investigation.
The investigation concerns an outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to recalled shredded iceberg lettuce distributed by Taylor Fresh Foods. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 12,883 illnesses, 570 hospitalizations and two deaths. The CDC reported on September 11 that the outbreak had ended. The FDA’s environmental results add evidence to epidemiological and traceback findings connecting the outbreak to the lettuce, but do not by themselves identify the precise route by which food became contaminated.
The FDA has completed genotyping of the two environmental samples, but said it is still analyzing how those results compare with genotyping of specimens from people who became ill. A Taylor Fresh Foods spokesperson told ABC News that the Central Mexico facility remains closed while the company works with its research team on enhanced safety protocols. The spokesperson also said the independent grower where a positive sample was collected is no longer in the company’s supplier program.
Evidence at Two Lettuce Sites
The positive samples matter because they place Cyclospora in the environment at locations tied to the supply chain examined during the outbreak investigation. The wastewater result came from the processing facility; the other came from a drainage ditch at a grower identified through traceback. Along with the reported epidemiological and traceback evidence, those findings strengthen the connection between the outbreak and recalled lettuce from the operation.
But environmental detection is not the same as proof of a specific contamination mechanism. The samples do not show whether or how the parasite reached lettuce that people ate, or establish when contamination may have happened. That distinction matters for consumers and food businesses: the outbreak has ended, according to the CDC, while the FDA’s investigation into the route of contamination and the relationship between environmental and patient samples is continuing.
The company’s reported response also has practical consequences for its supply chain. The facility remains closed, according to its spokesperson, and the grower where a positive sample was collected is no longer a supplier. The source material does not specify when the facility might reopen or what verification steps would be required beforehand.
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From Restaurant Illnesses to Traceback
Initial links between patients and Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce emerged in July, after people who had eaten at Taco Bell restaurants became ill. The affected menu items contained lettuce that the restaurant chain sourced from Taylor Farms, according to the report. The FDA then traced recalled lettuce through farms and a processing facility in Mexico that supplied product distributed by Taylor Fresh Foods.
Investigators conducted onsite inspections and collected samples at multiple growers and the processing facility in coordination with Mexican officials. The positive environmental findings were disclosed after the CDC had reported that the outbreak ended on September 11. The outbreak’s end indicates that the CDC no longer considered it ongoing; it does not resolve the FDA’s remaining questions about how contamination happened.
“There is currently not enough evidence to conclusively determine how contamination occurred in the outbreak.”
— U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as reported by Food Safety News
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How Contamination Occurred Remains Unknown
The FDA has not determined how Cyclospora entered the lettuce supply, whether the positive environmental samples are genetically related to the outbreak cases, or when any contamination may have occurred. The agency said genotyping of both positive samples is complete, but its analysis comparing those results with samples from patients is still underway.
The available report also does not say whether the positive samples came from the same dates or production lots as the recalled lettuce, or whether investigators identified contamination on finished lettuce. The two positive results establish detection at the specified environmental locations; they do not, on their own, establish that the wastewater or drainage ditch contaminated food.
The outbreak has been reported as ended, but the source material does not provide details about any further FDA inspection findings, the company’s full safety protocols, or criteria and timing for reopening the facility. No conclusion on those points can be drawn from the information released so far.
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Genotyping and Facility Status
The next reported investigative step is the FDA’s comparison of the completed genotyping results from the two environmental samples with ongoing genotyping of specimens from outbreak patients. That analysis could clarify whether the environmental detections are related to the outbreak, though the source material does not give a timeline or say what conclusions the agency expects it to support.
The facility’s status is also unresolved beyond the company’s statement that it remains closed while enhanced safety protocols are being developed with its research team. The source material provides no reopening date or FDA decision on the facility. The grower identified with a positive drainage-ditch sample, according to the company spokesperson, is no longer in its supplier program.
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Key Questions
Where did the FDA detect Cyclospora?
Two environmental samples tested positive: one from a tank holding wastewater leaving Taylor Farms de Mexico’s processing facility and one from a drainage ditch at an iceberg lettuce grower in the FDA’s traceback investigation.
Does the FDA know how the lettuce became contaminated?
No. The FDA said it does not have enough evidence to determine conclusively how contamination occurred. Its analysis comparing the environmental sample genotypes with those from outbreak patients is ongoing.
How large was the outbreak?
The CDC counted 12,883 illnesses, 570 hospitalizations and two deaths. It reported that the outbreak had ended on September 11, 2026.
Is the Taylor Farms facility open?
A Taylor Fresh Foods spokesperson told ABC News that the Central Mexico facility remains closed while the company works with its research team on enhanced safety protocols. The source material does not give a reopening date.
What happens with the positive samples now?
The FDA said genotyping of both samples is complete and it is continuing to analyze how those results relate to genotyping of specimens from outbreak patients. It has not provided a timeline for that analysis.
Source: rss
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