The FDA Says It Didn’t Apologize to Supplier Linked to Diarrhea Outbreak, Actually

美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）表示：并没有向卷入腹泻疫情的供应商道歉

In the middle of a diarrhea shitstorm, the Food and Drug Administration and lettuce supplier Taylor Farms appear to be facing off in a passive aggressive battle of technicalities. 在一场严重的腹泻疫情风波中，美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）与生菜供应商 Taylor Farms 似乎陷入了一场关于技术细节的“冷战”。

On July 17, the California-based company issued a voluntary recall on iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico. The recall came after people across at least five states were sickened with cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection that causes explosive diarrhea. 7月17日，这家总部位于加利福尼亚州的公司对其采购自墨西哥中部的圆生菜（iceberg lettuce）发布了自愿召回公告。此前，至少五个州的民众感染了圆孢子虫病（cyclosporiasis），这是一种会导致爆发性腹泻的寄生虫感染。

The next day, the FDA said that it had detected the parasite in a sample of Taylor Farms lettuce that wasn’t part of the initial recall. The day after that, the company and the FDA said that the result was actually a false positive. 次日，FDA 表示在 Taylor Farms 的一份生菜样本中检测出了该寄生虫，而该样本并不在最初的召回范围内。再过一天，该公司与 FDA 均表示，该检测结果实际上是假阳性。

“Today, the FDA apologized to us,” Taylor Farms then posted on its X account on July 19. “今天，FDA 向我们道歉了，”Taylor Farms 随后于 7 月 19 日在其 X（原 Twitter）账号上发文称。

The FDA did not quite agree with that interpretation, however. On July 20, an agency official told reporters that it did not offer the company an “official apology.” Instead, the official said, “mostly we were providing factual information” about how difficult it is to test for and trace the sources of cyclospora outbreaks. 然而，FDA 并不完全认同这种说法。7 月 20 日，该机构的一位官员告诉记者，他们并没有向该公司提供“正式道歉”。相反，这位官员表示，他们“主要是提供事实信息”，说明检测和追踪圆孢子虫疫情源头有多么困难。

The agency emphasized that the recall—which spans 27 states, and includes certain lettuce sold to Taco Bell and Walmart—still stands. “To clarify, this false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms,” it posted on X. 该机构强调，此次召回范围涵盖 27 个州，涉及供应给塔可钟（Taco Bell）和沃尔玛（Walmart）的部分生菜，目前依然有效。FDA 在 X 上发文称：“需要澄清的是，这一假阳性实验室样本并不会改变 FDA 正在进行的疫情调查基础，也不会改变支持 Taylor Farms 目前自愿召回决定的压倒性流行病学数据。”

In its July 19 post, Taylor Farms also wrote that the FDA “has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.” While true, this elides the difficulties involved in accurately testing for the parasite. 在 7 月 19 日的帖文中，Taylor Farms 还写道，FDA “尚未发现任何一份产品检测结果呈圆孢子虫阳性”。虽然这是事实，但这种说法掩盖了准确检测该寄生虫所面临的困难。

Many foodborne illness investigators determine the source of outbreaks without ever testing products. Instead, investigators use epidemiological evidence, such as interviewing people who have tested positive, to determine commonalities. 许多食源性疾病调查人员在确定疫情源头时，并不一定需要检测产品。相反，调查人员会利用流行病学证据，例如采访检测结果呈阳性的患者，来寻找共同点。

Taylor Farms has reportedly taken issue with how the FDA and CDC has conducted their weeks-long investigation into the source of the outbreak. A spokesperson told The New York Times that, last week, the company met with White House and FDA officials to discuss what it called “shortfalls” in the government organizations’ response processes. The Times reported that Taylor Farms executives attempted to cast doubt on the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s conclusions in the meeting, which took place on July 16, the day before Taylor Farms issued its recall. 据报道，Taylor Farms 对 FDA 和美国疾控中心（CDC）针对疫情源头进行的数周调查方式表示不满。一位发言人告诉《纽约时报》，上周，该公司与白宫和 FDA 官员会面，讨论了其所谓的政府机构在应对流程中的“不足之处”。《纽约时报》报道称，Taylor Farms 的高管在 7 月 16 日（即公司发布召回公告的前一天）的会议上，试图对 FDA 和 CDC 的结论提出质疑。

Taylor Farms did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment. Taylor Farms 未回应《连线》（WIRED）杂志的置评请求。

Since May, thousands of people have been sickened with cyclosporasis, as health officials have struggled to pinpoint the source of the outbreak. Authorities in Michigan say that they have counted 6,148 cases in that state alone, though experts previously told WIRED that the number of cases nationwide is likely higher than what’s been reported. 自 5 月以来，已有数千人感染圆孢子虫病，卫生官员一直在努力查明疫情源头。密歇根州当局表示，仅在该州就已统计到 6,148 例病例，尽管专家此前曾告诉《连线》，全国范围内的实际病例数可能高于已报告的数量。