Several questions have been asked online amid the ‘false positive’ row after the Cyclospora test on Taylor Farms’ lettuce. The company issued a statement saying the government agency had ‘apologized’ after the ‘false positive’ test, but noted that the recall of products was still in place.
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The FDA added “Over the weekend, FDA alerted Taylor Farms that a new sample of shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico tested positive for Cyclospora during import examination at the Southern Border. This ended up being a false positive, and Taylor Farms was alerted to the corrective test result Sunday.”
The statement continued “FDA’s traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico. FDA will continue to work with federal and state partners to investigate this multistate outbreak and ensure products implicated in this outbreak have been removed from the market.”
“Protecting the American public remains our highest priority. We encourage the public to continue to avoid all products listed in Taylor Farms’ voluntary recall,” it concluded. Meanwhile, an official told Fox40 that they had not ‘apologized’ to Taylor Farms for the ‘false positive’.
While the row over the ‘false positive’ in the Cyclospora test continues, panic has begun to spread online. “I heard that then I heard Taylor farms lettuce sold at Walmart tested positive!!,” one wrote on X. Another added “My girlfriend in NH got cramps and diarrhea and she didn’t know why and then the report about Taylor Farms came out and she said she had gotten a mixed green bagged salad from them through Walmart.” Notably, these claims all come from unverified profiles. HT.com could not verify these claims independently.
To be sure, Taylor Farms has issued a recall for two lettuce blend products which are available in grocery stores. These are the 12-oz or 24-oz “Iceberg Salad” and the 8-oz or 16-oz “Shredded Lettuce”. Fox40 noted that the FDA had also advised people not to consume these products. They are Marketside-branded lettuce items with best-by dates of July 18 through August 3, and both are available at Walmart.
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Meanwhile, the FDA issued a lengthy clarification saying that there is ‘overwhelming epidemiological data’ which supports Taylor Farms’ recall of the products.
“To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms,” they said.
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Another added “Something smells fishy after the FDA apologizes to Taylor Farms saying that the test that showed positive for Cyclospora in their lettuce was actually a false positive. Then we find out that the owner Bruce Taylor has donated millions to Trump & Republicans. Will you eat it?”.
Yet another wrote “Taylor Farm’s iceberg lettuce from Mexico was linked to thousands of Cyclospora cases & hospitalizations & recalled across 27 states. After CEO Bruce Taylor met with Trump in the White House, the FDA now says the positive finding was a ‘false positive’.”
While Bruce Taylor did not meet President Donald Trump recently, a NOTUS report notes that company representatives met with White House and FDA officials. Further, the allegations of Trump’s intervention in the case is not backed by any proof, and the FDA has clarified that the ‘investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms’.
However, Taylor had donated $1 million to MAGA Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump’s political operation, in March 2025. This donation was made less than a week after the FDA announced it was going to delay the implementation of the “Food Traceability Rule.” The rule was meant to make it easier, and faster, for officials to trace contaminated food back through the supply chain in the event of an outbreak, as per Forbes. In light of the Cyclosporiasis outbreak, and it possibly tracing back to Taylor Farms, this donation has gained fresh public scrutiny.
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Some conspiracy theorists also sought to link Taylor Farms’ CEO Bruce Taylor and President Donald Trump to this entire incident. “FDA declares Taylor Foods as source for Cyclosporiasis. Owner of Taylor Foods visits Trump. FDA declares test was ‘false positive’,” one claimed.
