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FDA says Taylor Farms Cyclospora test a false positive as outbreak weighs on restaurant traffic

Taylor Farms is reporting the CDC has found a fast-positive for the cyclospora outbreak linked to its products.

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July 20, 2026 by Valerie Gritton

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Taylor Farms issued a statement July 19 in regard to the Federal Drug Administration's reporting of a false positive test for its iceburg lettuce, amid reports the company's lettuce tested positive for the cyclospora parasite. The statement reads, in part:

Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico tested positive for cyclospora. Today, we were informed that FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive. To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora. Based on initial information provided by health officials, in an abundance of caution, we completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. Recalled product was limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico.

According to CNBC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that laboratory experts re-checked lettuce sample results from Taylor Farms in an investigation into an outbreak of the cyclospora parasite and concluded the finding is considered to be a false positive. As of Sunday, there were no confirmed positive sample results for cyclospora, the FDA added.

On Friday, it was reported that Taylor Farms lettuce was cited as the source of the cyclospora parasite linked to Taco Bell locations in five Midwestern states, prompting Taco Bell to pull the lettuce from its supply chain. That same day, Taylor Farms issued a separate statement saying Taylor Farms de Mexicoof Guanajuato, Mexico was voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Cyclospora. (Read the full statements here.)

According to Placer.ai, an advanced location analytics and foot traffic intelligence platform, the cyclospora outbreak has had a negative effect on restaurant foot traffic.

As of Friday, July 17, foot traffic was down by the following percentages compared to the day-of-the-week average between January 1-July 6, 2026. Among the chains mentioned, Wendy's and Chick-fil-A experienced an increase in traffic.

Foot traffic dropped for the following brands:

-18.9% at Taco Bell
-2.4% at Burger King
0.4% at Chick-fil-A
-0.8% at McDonald's
-3.3% at Subway
13.3% at Wendy's
-14.3% at Chop't
-6.9% at Chipotle
-6.6% at Panera Bread
-4.2% at CAVA

Overall, foot traffic decreased -1.9% for quick-service restaurants and -1.1% for fast casual locations.

"Visitation trends decreased sharply at Taco Bell after the FDA and CDC named the chain in its investigation of the cyclosporiasis outbreak. While national visitation trends initially only fell low-single-digits compared to year-to-date day-of-week averages, those declines fell to the high teens in the latter part of last week," said a spokesperson for Placer.ai.