House Democrat Tries to Tie Taylor Farms’ Political Donations to FDA’s Cyclospora Outbreak Response

The top Democrat on the House Oversight committee is demanding answers from Taylor Farms, the lettuce company linked to a cyclospora outbreak in several states, on whether it tried to influence a Food and Drug Administration investigation.Congressman Robert Garcia, on Monday, sent a letter to Taylor Farms chief executive officer, Bruce Taylor, questioning if the company used its political donations and White House connections to interfere with the investigation.Federal health officials said shredded lettuce used at Taco Bell restaurants in multiple states is linked to a widespread parasitic outbreak that has caused more than a thousand people to suffer from explosive diarrhea and vomiting.“Taylor Farms donated millions to President Trump, met privately with the White House the night the FDA identified their lettuce as the source of this outbreak, and then reportedly tried to distance themselves from this outbreak,” Mr. Garcia said in a news release. He went on to claim that Taylor Farms misled consumers about the company’s role in the outbreak.Taylor Farms, on July 17, initiated a recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico that was distributed to 17 states. “As a family owned and operated company, we are deeply concerned for those who became ill, their families, and the many Americans whose trust in the safety of their fresh produce has been shaken. That trust is something we’ve worked for decades to earn, and we are committed to doing everything in our power to restore that confidence,” the company said in a release.The next day, 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 border. The agency, however, re-checked the sample results and concluded the finding was a false positive, and it alerted Taylor Farms to the corrective test result last Sunday.Taylor Farms issued a statement that the FDA had “apologized to us” for the false positive test. “To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora,” the produce company said.The statement led to confusion over whether the company had been cleared of being involved in the outbreak. Federal health officials later stated that it had not issued an apology and the false-positive lab sample did not change the basis for the investigation into Taylor Farms lettuce.Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week that the outbreak was “under control” but, on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak had spread to nine states with 1,947 cases and 98 hospitalizations. The most recent case was confirmed on July 20. Health officials said the true number of sick people in the outbreak was likely higher and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses.The CDC said that epidemiologic and traceback data continue to show that iceberg lettuce from its subsidiary, Taylor Farms de Mexico, was contaminated.Mr. Garcia says Democrats on the Oversight Committee are now investigating Taylor Farms’ role in the outbreak and questioned possible ties between the outbreak response and $2 million in donations to political action committees tied to President Trump and other Republicans. Mr. Garcia also wrongly claimed that the company spent more than $810 million on lobbying related to food safety regulation. The actual figures in the article Mr. Garcia cited stated Taylor Farms spent $810 thousand on lobbying efforts.Taylor Farms returned a request for comment by pointing to a statement released on Friday in which the company defended its response. “When questions were raised about the source of the recent Cyclospora outbreak, we immediately removed all potentially implicated product from the marketplace, and out of an abundance of caution we issued an even broader recall of all iceberg lettuce sourced from the region,” the company said.The company went on to say that it continues to work with health authorities and it will “continue to be transparent” as more information becomes available.

House Democrat Tries to Tie Taylor Farms’ Political Donations to FDA’s Cyclospora Outbreak Response

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