After a summer of troubling headlines, the largest Cyclospora outbreak in U.S. history has been declared over by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There were nearly 13,000 reported Cyclospora cases in the multistate outbreak. CDC announced on Sept. 11 that the agency was confident any affected produce was now off the market and had moved through the supply chain.
In conjunction with the announcement, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its investigation of the outbreak associated with Taylor Farms de Mexico continues, as well as the investigations into other Cyclospora outbreak clusters experienced this summer.
This outbreak was associated with iceberg lettuce originating from Mexico. Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause severe diarrhea and other ailments. The parasite is spread through human feces.
Crops can become contaminated if they come into contact with soil or water where the parasite is present. How the scale of the outbreak became so large is still under investigation. In a normal year, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 illnesses are confirmed by lab testing.
During the week of Sept. 8, senior FDA and Mexican public health and agricultural officials met to encourage continued engagement on a prevention-focused framework to address outbreaks linked to produce grown in Mexico. The agency is continuing its investigation into the outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce produced by Taylor Farms de Mexico and the root cause of the outbreak.
FDA is encouraging continued communication, engagement and collaboration with industry, academia, states and other stakeholders on best practices to prevent future Cyclospora outbreaks. The agency sent a letter to all segments of the supply chain regarding continued collaboration.
“We’ve commissioned independent experts to conduct a top-to-bottom review of food-safety processes and protocols in our Central Mexico facility,” Taylor Farms noted in a statement after being linked to the outbreak. As of the afternoon of Sept. 11, Taylor Farms had not commented on the announcement that the outbreak was over but had dedicated a page for updates on its website.
By Frank Giles