Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Sunday accused Taylor Farms of impeding public health efforts to contain the Cyclospora outbreak and questioned whether the company’s political contributions to President Donald Trump‘s campaign contributed to CDC staffing cuts that weakened disease surveillance.
Questions Taylor Farms’ Role in Outbreak
“Americans deserve to know how Taylor Farms impeded public health efforts to stop Cyclospora. How its Trump multi million dollar campaign contributions caused CDC staff cuts & weakened reporting,” Blumenthal said in a post on X.
He also questioned whether efforts to halt the spread of the parasite had been delayed.
Taylor Farms did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment on Blumenthal’s post.
Outbreak Is Not Yet Fully Contained
Speaking on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the FDA has narrowed the likely source of the outbreak to central Mexico and specific farms but cannot yet conclude the outbreak has been fully contained.
He also criticized the agency’s public messaging, saying the FDA had made progress investigating a difficult-to-detect pathogen but had not communicated as much as the public might have expected.
Taylor Farms Expands Recall, Defends Food Safety Measures
Taylor Farms said Friday it had removed all potentially implicated products from the market and expanded its recall out of an abundance of caution while suspending sourcing of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.
The company also launched an independent review of its food safety protocols and said it remained confident in its food safety systems while continuing to work with health authorities.
As of Friday, the CDC has identified at least 1,947 confirmed cases, 98 hospitalizations, and no deaths across nine states.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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