Taylor Farms outlined actions it is taking to enhance food safety following the historic cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to its lettuce. The same day, Consumer Reports sent a letter to FDA requesting answers about why its outbreak response was “hindered by notable delays and a lack of transparency.”
Positive environmental samples were found on a farm and at a Taylor Farms of Mexico processing facility, which supplied the implicated lettuce distributed by Taylor Fresh Foods. The root cause of contamination was not found, however. FDA also announced ten actions to prevent future cyclosporiasis outbreaks.
CDC has declared the unprecedented Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce over. FDA continues its root cause investigation of the current outbreak as well as investigations into other U.S. cyclosporiasis outbreak clusters.
Between 1,600 and 5,000 people are sick in a five-state cyclosporiasis outbreak, according to CDC and Michigan officials. Iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms of Mexico to companies like Taco Bell and Walmart has been identified as the vehicle of infection. FDA has rescinded a previous positive product sample finding.
The outbreak cluster includes more than 1,600 people in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. Outside of the outbreak cluster, Michigan and other parts of the U.S. continue to experience elevated rates of Cyclospora infections compared to previous years.
The co-occurrence of biofilm formation, acid tolerance, and antimicrobial resistance genes in E. coli isolatedfrom irrigation water, soil, and crops could complicate downstream microbial control efforts in produce production systems.
A Center for Produce Safety-funded study is working to characterize the physiological changes that occur in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC) bacteria that is present on romaine lettuce during postharvest cooling and refrigerated transport to processors, which could affect the pathogen’s virulence and detectability characteristics. The end goal of the research is to develop an easily accessible online tool for industry that identifies practices to mitigate the risks of STEC transmission via romaine lettuce.
A study by scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s CFSAN and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ARS provides insight about factors that affect the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in bagged romaine lettuce.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated romaine lettuce from the Salinas, California and Yuma, Arizona growing regions and has released its findings.
