The Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms lettuce

The story so far

1. 

   Update 4Aug 22 20:40 UTC12 days later

   10,930 Sick From One Processor's Lettuce — California Farms Pay the Price

   10,930 cases trace to one Mexican processor's shredded iceberg. California lettuce was never implicated — but Salinas growers are destroying fields anyway.

   Still open after this report

   • No public lot-level traceback, named farms, harvest dates, or handling failure point beyond the processor.
   • No verified clinical details on the two deaths and no verified price-crash percentage or loss totals.
2. 

   Update 3Aug 10 16:48 UTC19 days later

   Largest US Cyclospora Outbreak Ever: 47 States Ill, Michigan Tops 10,000 Cases

   Nearly 23,000 ill in 47 states, Michigan hardest hit with two deaths, and investigators still without a fully identified vehicle as sources disagree on the lettuce link.

   Still open after this report

   • No fully identified contaminated product or point where cyclospora entered the food supply.
   • No single agreed account of the lettuce vehicle across the available sources.
3. 

   Update 2Jul 22 17:17 UTC40 hours later

   4,173 Cases and Climbing: Inside America's Worst Cyclosporiasis Year

   4,173 Cases and Climbing: Inside America's Worst Cyclosporiasis Year

   Still open after this report

   • Whether the Taylor Farms facility in central Mexico is in fact the source of the outbreak — the FDA's positive test was retracted, and Mexico denies a link.
   • The true case total, given roughly 7,500 unconfirmed or probable cases on top of the 4,173 confirmed .
   • Whether the CDC's July 2025 decision to make cyclosporiasis reporting optional has affected case detection in this outbreak.
4. 

   Update 1Jul 21 01:26 UTC

   Thousands Sick, One Test Pulled: FDA Walks Back Cyclospora Finding on Taylor Farms Lettuce

   A false-positive PCR result has been withdrawn, but the agency still says shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico is its best lead — and the recall across 27 states stays in place.

   Still open after this report

   • The exact case count behind "thousands" — no source quantifies the total.
   • Whether the FDA issued a formal apology to Taylor Farms; Taylor Farms says yes, an FDA official says no.
   • The precise mechanism that produced the false positive — described as a PCR testing error in coverage but not explicitly attributed in the provided excerpts.