Cyclosporiasis is a foodborne illness caused by contaminated food or water containing the Cyclospora parasite. FDA officials have yet to discover the source of the outbreak that the CDC says has sickened more than 1,600 people this summer.

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The source of the cyclospora The disease outbreak remains unknown, after the Food and Drug Administration announced Sunday that an earlier test that identified the parasite in a lettuce sample from Taylor Farms of Mexico was actually not contaminated with cyclospora.

The agency reviewed the results and said in a statement that it “concluded that the finding does not represent true amplification and should be considered a false positive.”

However, on social media, the FDA clarified that “this false positive laboratory sample does NOT change the basis of the FDA’s ongoing outbreak investigation nor the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting Taylor Farms’ current voluntary recall.”

The FDA recommendation remains not to eat iceberg lettuce grown or processed by Taylor Farms in Mexico. The products were sold at Taco Bells in five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia, and Taco Bell has said they are I no longer use that lettuce Iceberg lettuce products were also distributed in 27 states and Walmart stores in 15 states. Health officials recommend ruling out any iceberg lettuce recalled distributed by Taylor Fresh Foods.

That recommendation is based on interviews with sick people, many of whom had eaten a dish at Taco Bell that included lettuce.

The FDA continues to test lettuce samples and says it is also testing products at the southern border to see if cyclospora. But so far none of this has turned out to be positive.

There are currently more than 1,600 confirmed cases of diarrhea caused by this water- and food-borne parasite and a growing number of suspected cases numbering in the thousands. Ninety-four people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Taylor Farms said in a statement that the FDA apologized, emphasizing that “the FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora.” On July 17, the company made voluntarily remember all iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico and on Monday clarified that they “will no longer be sourcing iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico for the remainder of the growing season” and that they are working closely with public health officials.