FDA says its Cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive; the recall stands

The lab confirmation the FDA announced Saturday evaporated Sunday, but Taylor Farms' recall of Walmart Marketside bags and foodservice lettuce across 27 states remains in force, the traceback to Taylor Farms de Mexico holds, and the outbreak sits near 7,000 cases across 34 states. Plus Hyundai recalls 47,749 Kona SUVs because a rear center seat belt buckle may not hold in a crash.

The single most important food safety story in the country just took a step backward, and the practical advice for your kitchen has not changed. On Saturday July 18 the FDA reported that a sample of shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico, collected during targeted import surveillance, had tested positive for Cyclospora, the parasite behind the massive outbreak. On Sunday July 19 the FDA walked that finding all the way back.

The FDA retracts its Cyclospora confirmation on Taylor Farms lettuce

"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 its outbreak update posted July 19, as Food Safety News reported. The agency was blunt about the bottom line: "As of July 19, 2026, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for Cyclospora," per NBC News.

Taylor Farms, which had been told Saturday its lettuce was contaminated, said Sunday night the FDA had made a mistake. "To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora," the company said in a statement reported by UPI.

Here is the part that matters at the refrigerator: the false positive does not undo the recall. The FDA said the reversal "does not change the company's earlier voluntary recall" of all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico, and that it "continues working with the firm to ensure product implicated in this outbreak has been removed from the market." Taylor Farms said it had completed that voluntary recall, which it launched after the FDA's epidemiologic traceback, not the lab test, identified Taylor Farms de Mexico as the single supplier behind the five-state Taco Bell cluster.

So the case against the lettuce now rests on epidemiology and traceback, the same kind of evidence that drove the McDonald's onion E. coli recall, not on a confirmed parasite on a confirmed leaf. The FDA clearly judged that evidence strong enough to keep the recall live.

What is still recalled, and where:

Retail: Marketside brand at Walmart, 12-oz and 24-oz Iceberg Salad and 8-oz and 16-oz Shredded Lettuce, Best if Used By dates July 18 through Aug 3, 2026, sold in 15 states (AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX, VA, WV). Walmart is pulling the product and offering full refunds at 1-800-925-6278.
Foodservice: 27 states (AL, AR, CT, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI), distributed June 29 through July 16 via Sysco and direct to other foodservice customers, including Taco Bell locations in at least Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Taco Bell has completed a nationwide removal of Taylor Farms Mexico lettuce. The FDA's consumer advisory still names only those five states, even though recalled product reached 27, meaning most of the states that received recalled lettuce have no official government warning attached.

What to do: if you have a recalled Walmart Marketside bag, do not eat it, return it to Walmart for a refund, or throw it out. In the five advisory states, the FDA says do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell. The CDC says grocery and other-restaurant lettuce is not affected, and no Taylor Farms branded salad kits contain iceberg, so they are not in the recall. Taylor Farms customer care is at 855-455-0098.

The outbreak behind all of this is still the worst cyclospora year on record. The CDC's five-state Taco Bell cluster holds at 1,644 cases with 94 hospitalizations and zero deaths, illness onset May 13 to July 13. Michigan alone reports 5,002 patients and 102 hospitalizations, against a typical 40 to 50 cases for this point in the year. Ohio reports more than 1,240, Indiana more than 320, Kentucky more than 190, and West Virginia 139. Across 34 states the total runs near 7,000, with the CDC's national tally lagging because the agency stopped tracking cyclospora and seven other pathogens on July 1, 2025.

Michigan has logged 5,002 cyclospora patients this season. A normal year, by this date, brings 40 to 50.

The gap between a confirmed product test and a strong epidemiologic link is real, and the FDA's false positive is a reminder that Cyclospora is genuinely hard to detect in a lab. It is not a reason to eat the recalled lettuce. The traceback, the recall, and the case counts all still point the same way.

Hyundai recalls 47,749 Kona SUVs over a rear center seat belt buckle that may fail

A seat belt that looks fine and clicks like normal can still fail to hold a passenger in a crash, and that is the fault Hyundai is asking owners to live around for the next several weeks.

Hyundai is recalling 47,749 Kona SUVs in the United States because the rear center seat belt buckle may not properly restrain an occupant in a crash, according to documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers 47,733 model-year 2026 gas Kona vehicles and 16 model-year 2025 Kona Electric vehicles, built between July 8, 2025 and February 13, 2026 for the gas version, and July 8 through October 21, 2025 for the electric. It is NHTSA recall 26V452, Hyundai recall 306, with a manufacturer report date of July 14, 2026, as Fox Business and USA Today reported.

The cause traces to a worn stamping die at supplier Joyson Safety Systems. The tooling was used beyond its intended service life and was not adequately monitored, letting some buckle components drift outside specification. Hyundai estimates only about 1 percent of the recalled vehicles actually have the defect, but every potentially affected vehicle needs inspection and, if necessary, repair. There is no reliable warning sign: no guaranteed play, noise, or latching trouble. Hyundai reports zero confirmed crashes, injuries, fires, or field incidents in the U.S. tied to the issue, and launched the recall out of an abundance of caution.

What to do: Hyundai is advising owners not to let anyone sit in the rear center seating position until the recall repair is complete. The two outer rear seats and their belts are not affected and remain safe to use. Dealers will replace the rear center seat belt buckle assembly free of charge, and Hyundai will reimburse owners who previously paid out of pocket for the same repair. Vehicle identification numbers became searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning July 15. Owner notification letters are expected to mail September 11. Owners can call Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and reference recall 306.

The quiet part of this recall is the gap between the July 14 filing, VINs going live July 15, and owner letters not arriving until September 11. A Kona owner who does not check the NHTSA database will not know for nearly two months that the middle back seat is suspect. If you carry three across in the back of a 2026 Kona, check your VIN now.

Tracking

Kia Telluride fire recall (26V430, 462,869 MY2020-2024 SUVs): VINs are live on NHTSA.gov since July 17, and Kia is telling owners to park outside until the electronic fuse is installed. Owner letters mail August 13. This is a recall-of-a-recall: the 2024 fix did not hold. CS 1-800-333-4542, SC374.
Clover Hill Dairy listeria outbreak: unchanged at 12 illnesses, 10 hospitalizations, and 1 death in Maryland, per the CDC. La Ceiba requeson sold under La Colonia and Selectos Latinos labels expired July 10, so if any is still in a fridge, throw it out. Cheese may have been repacked under Kesso, Quesos la Ricura, Izalco, De mi Pueblo, or Rio Lindo. Maryland has suspended the dairy's license.
Nara Organics infant formula botulism: holds at 4 hospitalized infants (California 2, Pennsylvania 1, Washington 1), with no new cases in the past month, per the CDC. The FDA's July 13 letter to the infant formula industry, urging substantive supplier oversight, remains the last regulatory development. Recall is all lots, sold at Target and Nara.com, July 2025 through June 2026.
California Dairies salmonella cascade: in its fourth month, the original April 20 recall of 2.7 million pounds of nonfat dry milk has pulled in more than eight downstream brands including Zapp's and Dirty chips, Ghirardelli mixes, and Motor City Pizza 5 Cheese Bread. Zero illnesses reported. The FDA major recall page continues to update.