The FDA reports that advances in testing helped investigators during an outbreak of cyclospora infections this summer. More than 500 people were confirmed infected, but the outbreak is over, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Outbreak investigations at state and federal levels showed a link between McDonald’s salads and sick people. Laboratory tests confirmed the microscopic cyclospora parasite in an unused package of salad mix produced for McDonald’s by a Fresh Express processor in Streamwood, Illinois.

Fresh Express supplies fresh produce to a variety of buyers, including foodservice operations across the country. Company officials told investigators from the Food and Drug Administration that the carrots in the implicated salad mix were used only in products for McDonald’s.

The Illinois Department of Health posted an alert on July 12 urging consumers who “ate a salad from McDonald’s since mid-May and developed diarrhea and fatigue, contact a health care provider about testing and treatment.” It takes about a week after infection for symptoms to show up, according to the CDC.

On July 13, McDonald’s stopped selling salads at more than 3,000 locations in 14 states. Soon thereafter the multi-national fast food company reported that it had replaced the supplier of salad mix in those states.

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