WASHINGTON: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Friday it has closed its investigation into the largest recorded Cyclospora outbreak in US history, after inspectors detected the parasite at the Mexican farm blamed for the widespread illness. The Cyclospora outbreak sickened 12,883 people across 21 states, hospitalizing 570 and killing two, before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared it over on September 11.
FAKTA: Key facts
- FDA announced: October 2, 2026 — the agency closed its investigation into the largest multistate Cyclospora outbreak on record.
- Toll: 12,883 confirmed illnesses, 570 hospitalizations and two deaths across 21 states; the last illness onset was August 17.
- CDC status: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak over on September 11.
- Where found: one positive sample in a tank holding outgoing wastewater at the Taylor Farms de Mexico processing facility; a second in a drainage ditch at an iceberg lettuce grower in Mexico.
- No positive lettuce: no lettuce sample tested positive; the only product positive announced earlier — a July 18 border sample — was withdrawn the next day as a false positive.
- Company response: Taylor Fresh Foods blamed an independent grower no longer in its supplier program and said the sample came from discharged waste and sewer water outside the processing facility.
FDA closes the Cyclospora outbreak investigation
The FDA said its investigation, which ran through the summer, has now been concluded, and that the two environmental samples provide “strong epidemiological data” linking the outbreak to the Taylor Farms site. The agency’s visit to the farm more than six weeks ago was its first time there in more than seven years, following a steep drop in international food safety inspections after the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the same story on our main site: FDA: Cyclospora found at Mexican farm linked to lettuce outbreak.
Where the parasite was found
Of the samples collected in Mexico, two tested positive for Cyclospora. The first came from a tank that held outgoing wastewater at the Taylor Farms de Mexico processing facility. The second came from a drainage ditch at one of the iceberg lettuce growers identified in the FDA’s traceback. Both positives are environmental — water, not lettuce — and the agency stressed it cannot yet say how the parasite got onto the lettuce.
The FDA said genotyping of both samples is complete and it is still working out how those results relate to the genotyping of specimens taken from sickened patients. While the exact route of contamination remains unclear, the agency said the findings close the largest recorded multistate outbreak involving the parasite.
Conflicting findings from Mexico
The FDA’s findings contrast with those of Mexico’s food safety authority, which announced in August that its own investigation did not detect Cyclospora in the lettuce or water at the facility. That conclusion came days after the FDA was forced to retract a faulty test result that had incorrectly identified Cyclospora in a sample of Taylor Farms lettuce collected at the border on July 18.
Taylor Farms responds
A spokesperson for parent company Taylor Fresh Foods said: “The independent grower where a positive sample was found is no longer part of our supplier program. The sample FDA referenced came from discharged waste and sewer water outside of our processing facility.” The company noted that, as the FDA itself reported, there is currently not enough evidence to conclusively determine how contamination occurred. The firm’s facility in central Mexico remains closed while it works with its research team on enhanced safety protocols from field to facility.
What is Cyclospora?
Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that causes the intestinal illness cyclosporiasis. According to the CDC, it commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” along with loss of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps, bloating and increased digestive gas. It is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by salmonella or E. coli, and it spreads through human feces — which is why outbreak investigations of this parasite always come back to the water.
Consumer fallout and recalls
The summer-long outbreak rattled consumer confidence, with some shoppers avoiding raw fruits and vegetables and dining out less, and it hurt foot traffic at restaurant chains including Taco Bell, Sweetgreen and Chipotle. The shredded iceberg lettuce at the center of the investigation prompted one of the largest food recalls in recent years and renewed scrutiny of food-safety controls for imported produce. For more US and global stories, see our World section.
Conclusion
The detection of Cyclospora at the Taylor Farms site in Mexico marks the most significant development in the investigation of the largest recorded Cyclospora outbreak in US history. With 12,883 illnesses, 570 hospitalizations and two deaths behind it, the FDA has now closed the case — even as the central question, how the parasite reached the lettuce, remains officially unanswered.
