FDA says lettuce supplier found to be a source of Cyclospora was the result of false positive

Taylor Farms said that the Food and Drug Administration informed the company that a lettuce sample found to have a parasite linked to an outbreak that has made thousands of people ill was the result of a false positive. 

"Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico had a 'confirmed positive' test for Cyclospora. Today, we were informed that FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive," the company said in a statement on Sunday. 

Taylor Farms supplies major retailers and restaurants in the U.S., including Taco Bell, with a range of products from salad kits to vegetable blends, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

In its statement, the company said that the FDA has not had a single positive test for Cyclospora on any of its products. Acting on the initial information that health officials provided the company, it went ahead with a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico out of "an abundance of caution." 

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. It is not life-threatening and usually treated with antibiotics.