The FDA said a Cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce turned up a false positive, but the recall did not go away. Taylor Farms had already pulled dozens of products sourced from central Mexico, and they remain out of distribution while the investigation continues.
That reversal matters because consumers in 27 states were already caught up in the Taylor Farms lettuce cyclospora outbreak, including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. For anyone scanning the recall today, the question is not whether the first test missed the mark — it is whether the food linked to the broader cyclosporiasis outbreak is still being kept off shelves while officials sort through the evidence.
The FDA said the false-positive result came from testing lettuce for the parasite, a finding that initially pointed investigators in one direction before it was walked back. Even so, the recall remains in place because possible contamination has not been ruled out, and the products already pulled from distribution are still treated as part of a massive lettuce recall tied to the outbreak.
That is the friction inside this case: a test result that did not hold up, and a public-health response that still has not ended. The FDA and state partners are continuing to collect and analyze product samples, which means the search for the source is still open even after the first alarm proved false.
The practical answer for consumers is straightforward. The false positive narrowed nothing enough to end the recall, and the products remain under scrutiny while investigators try to determine whether contamination exists somewhere in the chain. Until that work is complete, the caution stays in place.
