Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb said it was abnormal for Taylor Farms to contact the White House seeking to delay a recall announcement tied to a major cyclospora outbreak, marking a departure from standard government practice during public health crises.
Speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, Gottlieb responded to reporting that Taylor Farms representatives reached out to the White House requesting more time before federal health officials publicly connected the company to the multi-state outbreak sickening thousands of people.
"It was not standard operating procedure," Gottlieb said. "And it wasn't standard operating procedure when I was at FDA."
Gottlieb drew on his experience managing previous foodborne illness outbreaks. During his tenure, the agency dealt with romaine lettuce contamination, spinach E. coli cases, and similar crises without White House involvement beyond routine briefings.
"I never heard from the White House on those things, other than to have discussions to inform them of what we were doing, so that they were properly briefed and could respond to questions that they were getting," Gottlieb explained. "So it's unusual."
According to Wall Street Journal reporting, Taylor Farms asked the White House to allow the company more time before the government made its public announcement. The White House then invited FDA officials to join the call, where company representatives argued that federal investigators lacked positive laboratory evidence directly linking their products to illnesses and said the government was overstating the company's responsibility for the outbreak.
Taylor Farms executives believed they had not received adequate clarity from the FDA regarding the evidence behind any potential recall and its scope, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The cyclospora crisis has been marked by contradictory statements and shifting messages from both federal health authorities and the company. Initially, iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico was linked to the outbreak, prompting a voluntary recall. The FDA later issued an update stating that lettuce outside the recall had tested positive for cyclospora, only to reverse course the following day and characterize the test as a false positive.
The confusion deepened when Taylor Farms posted a statement claiming the FDA had apologized, despite no public apology being announced. The company also stated that no positive cyclospora test results had been identified in any of its products. Days later, Taylor Farms acknowledged the recall remained active and said it would no longer source iceberg lettuce from central Mexico for the current growing season.
The outbreak has drawn scrutiny over how federal officials and the company have communicated with the public during an ongoing health emergency. The virus causes severe gastrointestinal illness and has affected a large number of people across multiple states.
Author James Rodriguez: "Companies don't typically go knocking on the White House door during food safety investigations, and Gottlieb's bluntness underscores just how unusual this move really was."
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