Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the Food and Drug Administration has made progress identifying the likely source of the cyclospora outbreak but cautioned that officials cannot yet say with certainty that the outbreak has been fully contained.
Cyclospora Outbreak Not Contained
On Sunday, speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Gottlieb said he does not believe the cyclospora outbreak is fully under control, despite Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent assurances.
“I don’t think it’s under control yet, per se. I think that they’ve done a good job, FDA has, isolating this to central Mexico and some specific farms as well,” the former FDA Commissioner said.
He added, “I don’t think this is fully under control yet because we don’t know for sure that that’s the only growing region where this is coming from.”
Gottlieb also criticized the FDA’s public messaging, saying the agency had “done a good job” investigating a pathogen that is difficult to detect but that “there hasn’t been as much communication from the agency as you might expect.”
Taylor Farms Responds
On Friday, in a statement, Taylor Farms said it had removed all potentially implicated products from the market and expanded its recall “out of an abundance of caution.”
The company also suspended sourcing and production of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico, launched an independent review of its food safety protocols, and said it remained “confident in our food and food safety systems” while continuing to work with health authorities.
Cyclospora Lettuce Outbreak
Last week, the CDC reported 4,173 Cyclospora cases, 308 hospitalizations and no deaths across 41 states since May 1.
More than 7,400 suspected cases are still under investigation as officials probe a lettuce-linked outbreak.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) criticized the CDC’s handling of the Cyclospora outbreak.
Kennedy Jr. said the outbreak was “under control” and denied that staffing cuts affected surveillance efforts.
The FDA said a Taylor Farms lettuce sample previously tied to Cyclospora was a false positive, but investigators continued to point to shredded iceberg lettuce from the supplier.
Taylor Farms’ recall remains active in 27 states, while Taco Bell removed affected lettuce from restaurants.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock/ TopMicrobialStock
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