Washington, USA – After a government investigation, the Food and Drug Administration decided to ban the imports of cilantro from Puebla, Mexico. It is because during the investigation, they found some human feces and toilet tissues all over the growing fields of cilantro.
The cilantro was linked to the cases of stomach ache outbreaks in the United Stated in the years 2013 and 2014. This is why the Food and Drug Administration temporarily banned cilantro from Puebla. According to the FDA, even health authorities in Wisconsin and Texas suspected that the imported cilantro from Puebla is also the reason for the outbreaks of more stomach-related illnesses for this year.
Due to the continuous outbreaks of stomach illnesses, both the Mexican and US authorities decided to investigate cilantro farms and packing houses situated in Puebla for the past three years. According to FDA, during the investigation of the farms, they discovered toilet tissues and even human feces in the growing fields of cilantro.
Aside from this, they also found out that there is no toilet facility or running water in the farm. Also, dirty containers used for keeping picked cilantro were found. One of the cilantro firms even has water cleanliness issue. When their water was tested, it resulted that it is positive with cyclospora parasite, which is known to cause several stomach illnesses.
The FDA issued “import alert” on Monday. It is stated there that it suspects the contamination was the result of contact with parasites that were thought to be from human’s intestinal tract, processing and packing activities and contaminated water for harvesting.
The ban will not completely affect the overall shipments of cilantro from Puebla. It will only affect the harvests from April to August. The summer ban of cilantro from the area will continue for several years until the firms can prove that their products are safe to consume.
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