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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that tests of an iceberg lettuce sample from supplier Taylor Farms produced a false positive result for Cyclospora, amid a five-state outbreak that has seen at least 94 people hospitalised.

On Saturday 18 July 2026, the FDA reported that an iceberg lettuce sample from Taylor Farms, which supplies the Taco Bell foodservice chain, had tested positive for the Cyclospora parasite.

However, health officials yesterday (19 July 2026) said they had re-reviewed the sample results and concluded that the findings ‘do not represent true amplification’ and should be considered a false positive.

Cyclospora infection causes gastrointestinal illness, most commonly severe diarrhoea, in addition to other symptoms such as nausea, stomach pain, bloating, and sometimes vomiting and fever. The illness can cause severe hydration and other complications.

A multi-state outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses was reported by the FDA on 16 July, linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Thousands of people are said to have been infected, with nearly 100 hospitalisations. No deaths have been reported.

The FDA said its investigation had found convergence on a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico, used by the Taco Bell locations where people ate before becoming unwell.

The supplier was identified as Taylor Farms Mexico on Friday 17 July, resulting in the recall of all Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico from the US market. Several lawsuits were filed against Taco Bell and Taylor Farms last week after the companies were named in the FDA’s investigation.

However, Taylor Farms has now reported it has received an ‘apology’ from the FDA due to the false positive result.

“To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora,” the greens supplier wrote in a statement shared yesterday (19 July).

“Our thoughts remain with everyone who has fallen ill in this outbreak. We are committed to working with public health authorities as the ongoing outbreak investigation continues.”

The latest development means the exact source of the outbreak is still unknown. The FDA’s investigation remains active, with collection and analysis of product samples ongoing.

Consumers have been advised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell in the impacted locations.