U.S. food safety regulator closes lettuce parasite probe, links outbreak to Mexico facility

A farm worker walks at a Taylor Farms plantation in the town of Doctor Mora, on the central state of Guanajuato, Mexico, on March 26, 2008. (Guillermo Arias / AP Photo)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it has concluded its investigation into a summer parasite outbreak, linking the illnesses to recalled shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico.

While investigators could not definitively determine how the contamination happened, tests confirmed the Cyclospora parasite was present in the environment where the lettuce was grown and processed, the health regulator said.

Patient illness reports and supply chain tracking strongly supported the link between the recalled lettuce and the multistate outbreak, which causes intestinal sickness, it said.

After the probe concluded, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a 10-point plan to prevent similar outbreaks ahead of the 2027 growing season.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)