What FDA Taylor Farms lettuce false positive means

The Food and Drug Administration’s rollback of a key piece of cyclosporiasis research has sparked confusion in the United States, but the agency said Monday it had not changed its main conclusions about the outbreak.

A test showing that a sample of iceberg lettuce provided by Taylor Farms de Mexico carried the cyclospora parasite was a false positive, the agency said Sunday. But this only applies to a specific shipment of lettuce supplied by the company; the agency does not believe it was the vehicle that sickened more than 1,600 people and potentially thousands more.

In a statement Monday, the agency said the false positive did not change its previous conclusion that the outbreak was linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from central Mexico and also served at some Taco Bell locations. The agency is still advising Americans not to eat the recalled iceberg lettuce.

“FDA traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico,” he said. expression. “FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multi-state outbreak and ensure that the products involved in this outbreak are removed from the market.”

Researchers continue to study what exactly caused the outbreak, which could cause stomach bug-like symptoms for days or even weeks. CNBC has reached out to the FDA for details on the next phase of the investigation, including whether additional ingredients or suppliers are being reviewed and whether the agency expects to provide further guidance. The agency has not yet responded.

The false positive test comes as the evolving investigation creates uncertainty for both consumers and the food industry. Although the FDA told people not to eat Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce, as the number of cases rose, some restaurants avoided the salads altogether.

“Unfortunately, this latest development may add further confusion to an already complex situation for consumers,” said Frank Yiannas, FDA’s former commissioner of food policy and response.

While industry analysts don’t expect the outbreak to have a long-term impact on Taco Bell or other restaurant chains, it could at least temporarily impact sales and cause a one- to two-quarter hit for companies affiliated with it, according to foot traffic data. Foot traffic at Taco Bell was down nearly 19% on Friday compared to the day of the week That’s the average so far this year, according to data from research firm Placer.ai.

The Department of Health and Human Services in Michigan, where the epidemic is experiencing explosive growth, says: continues to recommend people buying whole heads of lettuce instead of pre-washed, bagged or pre-mixed salad kits.

The agency added that, based on interviews with more than 2,000 infected patients, many did not report eating lettuce at a restaurant, but did say they frequently ate the leafy green in some settings.

Taylor Farms in question On Monday morning, Taco Bell will continue its voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce in central Mexico. already started Removal of questionable lettuce from restaurants in affected states.

The ripple effects go beyond these companies.

Walmart It said Monday that it had proactively removed its four-pack salad set product, under the Marketside brand and supplied by Taylor Farms, from stores in 27 states, despite there being no indication that its products were part of the outbreak.

“There have been no confirmed illnesses associated with these products at this time,” the company said in a statement. “We are working closely with our supplier and have taken immediate steps to remove the products from sale.”

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb suggested to CNBC that the test result did not clarify Taylor Farms’ connection to the outbreak. He said Friday’s recall was for a product separate from romaine lettuce that was imported several weeks ago and tested positive by the FDA.

He also noted that because cyclospora has an incubation period of up to two weeks and lettuce has a short shelf life, it is important to test multiple shipments, even if they come from the same farm.

Dr., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine. According to Norman Beatty, although the outbreak is currently due to a single vendor, it is possible that the contamination has already spread over a wider area.

“We may find that this current outbreak may have led to additional outbreaks due to the nature of this parasite,” Beatty told CNBC. “The reason this is important for the current outbreak is because there are over 30 states where this has been isolated, and other smaller outbreaks may be occurring in other areas.”

For restaurants, the uncertainty is as challenging as the pandemic itself. Salad-focused chains and other operators that rely heavily on fresh produce are left without knowing whether other ingredients are still a potential risk.

Taco Bell told CNBC on Saturday that it had voluntarily removed all suspect romaine from its locations within 72 hours of the start of the process and adjusted its supply chain accordingly. The company added that it is “confident” consumers can safely dine at its locations.

“Obviously, this is not a problem specific to Taco Bell, but rather an industry-wide issue across the country,” the company said. “We hope that other members of the industry take equally urgent action and responsibility to the consumer as we do.”

Taco Bell isn’t the only restaurant seeing slow business, according to Placer.ai. Other restaurant chains that sell lettuce, including Chopt, Panera Bread and Chipotle, also saw declines in traffic on Friday, the firm said.

As headlines swirled about the pandemic last week, the industry’s top advocacy group emphasized that it takes food safety seriously.

“The Food Code requires every restaurant to have a food safety certified manager on every shift,” Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said in a post on LinkedIn.

“We will continue to support public health officials as they investigate the outbreak and ensure our members have the information they need to evaluate food safety decisions,” he added.

Taylor Farms and Taco Bell parent despite false positive result Yum Brands is still struggling with the reputational damage of a pandemic that has led to product removals and widespread headlines. Even so, restaurant analysts previously told CNBC that they do not expect a long-term financial hit for companies linked to the outbreak.