Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the US cyclospora outbreak was not yet under control, despite Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s assurances. He said the Food and Drug Administration had made progress in identifying and isolating the likely source, but that officials could not yet be certain transmission had been contained; clearer public communication was still needed.

The outbreak has been linked by investigators to shredded iceberg lettuce from central Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in five states, although an earlier positive product test was later deemed a false positive. Cyclospora is a parasite that can cause prolonged intestinal illness, including severe diarrhoea, and symptoms can appear days or weeks after exposure, complicating efforts to assess whether an outbreak has ended.