Monday, July 20, 2026

Well, sh-t: Trump’s gutted FDA can’t find source of diarrhea

 

Well, sh-t: Trump’s gutted FDA can’t find source of diarrhea

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/20/800072419/health/well-sh-t-trumps-gutted-fda-cant-find-source-of-diarrhea-parasite/ 

Well, sh-t: Trump’s gutted FDA can’t find source of diarrhea parasite

by Emily Singer
Staff
20
Share:




20 Comments
A Taco Bell fast food restaurant is shown Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Taylor, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
A Taco Bell fast food restaurant is shown on uly 14, in Taylor, Michigan.

AP

The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday announced that the agency screwed up when it broadcast that the parasite sweeping across the United States was caused by lettuce from a producer in Mexico, saying that they actually are still unsure of where the Cyclospora bacteria that causes explosive diarrhea is coming from.

The FDA had announced on Friday that the outbreak of cyclosporiasis—which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention causes “watery diarrhea with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements” that can last for as long as a month—was caused by lettuce produced by Taylor Farms de Mexico. 

However, on Sunday the FDA said in a statement that the lettuce produced a false positive.

Cartoon by Pedro Molina
Cartoon by Pedro MolinaPedro Molina/Tribune Content Agency

“Due to the complexity in detection of Cyclospora, FDA laboratory experts re-reviewed the sample results and have concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive,” the FDA said in a statement, adding that, “As of July 19, 2026, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora.”

Taylor Farms said that the FDA has apologized to them for the false information. But the apology doesn’t do much for businesses like Taco Bell, which are facing monetary losses after being accused of spreading the diarrhea parasite because they purchase their lettuce from Taylor Farms. 

The FDA’s apparent inability to pinpoint the source of the outbreak—which has thus far sickened at least 1,645 people in the U.S., with thousands more cases being assessed—comes after President Donald Trump and Elon Musk slashed staff at both the FDA and the CDC, both of which are responsible for trying to prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses like cyclosporiasis.

Related | Sh-tstorm descends on US after Trump slashed CDC food safety efforts

DOGE made cuts to the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network—better known as FoodNet—which is a federal-state monitoring program between the CDC, FDA, Department of Agriculture, and state health agencies in 10 major states. And that left FoodNet only able to monitor two foodborne pathogens: Salmonella and E. coli. 

Six other pathogens—including Cyclospora—were cut from the monitoring list, NBC News reported last August.

“Although FoodNet will narrow its focus to Salmonella and [E. coli], it will maintain both its infrastructure and the quality it has come to represent,” a CDC spokesperson told NBC at the time. “Narrowing FoodNet’s reporting requirements and associated activities will allow FoodNet staff to prioritize core activities.”

Turns out, those cuts did reduce FoodNet’s testing quality.

Now, thousands are sick, and Americans have no idea what foods are safe to eat if they want to avoid a gastrointestinal illness that could land them in the hospital. Thanks, Trump. 

We'll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.

We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.

$
OR
Donate with
6 Tags

Was this story worth reading?

Recommending and sharing stories helps us decide which stories are most important to show our readers.

20
Share:




Conversation

|

All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. The views expressed in comments are those of the individual authors and don't necessarily reflect the views of Daily Kos.

All Comments

  1. Comment by kurious.

    ("...the agency did not back away from its conclusion that The Company Remains Linked to a Multistate Outbreak of Cyclosporiasis: FDA retracts test result but still links Taylor Farms lettuce to cyclosporiasis" (Washington Post/ MSN, 7/20/26)

    The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that a laboratory finding showing cyclospora contamination in a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico was a false positive.

    But the agency did not back away from its conclusion that The Company Remains Linked to a Multistate Outbreak of Cyclosporiasis through its traceback investigation.

    “It does not mean they are walking it back,” Susan Mayne, a former head of the FDA’s center on food safety that oversees outbreak investigations, said in a text message Monday. “Absence of evidence (of a positive test result) is never evidence of absence...”

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/general/fda-retracts-test-result-but-still-links-taylor-farms-lettuce-to-cyclosporiasis/ar-AA28ixrz

  2. Comment by A Citizen.

    I immediately suspected it was entirely too convenient for Trump Administration to blame the outbreak on Mexico. The news media uncritically reported the Trump Administration's claims as fact - retractions barely make a ripple.

  3. Comment by BobRR.

    How much did Taylor Farms bribe the FDA for re-stating their information?

  4. Comment by raboof.

    Have they checked his mouth?

  5. Comment by dbutch.

    Maybe we can improve testing by designating Musk, RFKjr, Oz, and every one of the Tech Bros who were assigned to cripple staffing while at DOGE as experimental test subjects until they figure out where the cyclospora outbreaks are coming from.

  6. Comment by noofsh.

    Totally incompetent regime!

    • Reply by bopamole.

      But the orange admin and their voters will shout "Biden" at you. Or call people who wish for their government to help protect them "communists".

  7. Comment by bopamole.

    What a surprise! No scientists to do scientific tests...forgive me if I write this off to the enshitification of the world due to the orange nazis.

  8. Comment by brat city blue.

    When are we going to send Leon back to South Africa?

    • Reply by bopamole.

      I believe a more appropriate setting would be an american prison.

    • Reply by WireBender73.

      Why not to Mars? Seems like a better solution. Maybe tRump would like to join him on the adventure of their lives. Let him bring along lots of gold foil to make Mars beautiful for showing off to all those folks with their backyard telescopes. It would be a monument to his glory nobody would ever take down forever.

    • Reply by DemSign.

      I am 100% for Elmo being the first colonist on Mars.

  9. Comment by darthstar.

    This too shall pass (albeit explosively...pro tip: 3 packs of Pepto Bismol at Costco)

  10. Comment by zenbassoon.

    Taylor Farms, according to Open Secrets, donates more to Republicans than Democrats. I'm sure people are going to say money changed hands to call it a "false positive".

    • Reply by Jas Popeye.

      Meanwhile we all know who the 'True Negative' is in politics.....🙄😵‍💫🤣

    • Reply by Kevo2007.

      They can say it, but I hope its not true. I just bought a Taylor Farms 11.15 oz. Caesar Salad kit that was marked down to $1.75. I was aware of this news item and the store had a sign stating the earlier report was a false positive.

      I going to eat half of it with lunch. Wish me luck!

    • Reply by zenbassoon.

      I bought a Burger King chicken sammich the other day. Gonna eat it either later today or tomorrow. I had one on Saturday and so far, knock wood, so good.

  11. Comment by JohnathanSwiss.

    If we stop testing the number of cases will go down.

    Problem solved.

    • Reply by WireBender73.

      In addition, pretty soon those getting long term explosive diarrhea will die from it, so fewer sick people. Also problem solved - if you're stupid and indifferent enough. Meanwhile we're simply not eating any fresh greens and hoping we're careful enough. Either they come in a can or go in the microwave... and we buy vitamins to compensate.

Active Conversations

The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 7 days.

Trending Conversations

The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 2 days.

 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)