The Food and Drug Administration has issued a ban on cilantro from certain farms in Puebla, Mexico after it has been linked to outbreaks of cyclosporiasis in the U.S.
In an import alert issued on July 28, the FDA said cilantro from such farms is banned from entering U.S. because it was "prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health." The cilantro also was also manufactured and packed in "insanitary conditions."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health officials have identified a pattern of cyclosporiasis outbreaks occurring every year from 2012 to 2014. An ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak this month, which health officials have associated with cilantro imported from Puebla, Mexico prompted the FDA to conduct an investigation on the cilantro farms.
The FDA investigated 11 farms and packing houses in Puebla and found eight of them, including five which were directly linked to the U.S. outbreaks, with "objectionable conditions."
Human feces and toilet paper were observed in the growing fields and around the facilities. The farms did not have soap, toilet paper and running water in the toilets, and some farms did not have toilets or hand washing areas. The plastic crates used to hold cilantro and the tables where cilantro was cut and prepared were unwashed and dirty.
In some cases, water used to wash cilantro was vulnerable to sewage contamination. And in one farm, water stored in a tank used for washing hands was contaminated with Cyclospora cayetanensis.
C. cayetanensis is a protozoan parasite that infects humans. It causes cyclosporiasis, an infection that comes from ingesting food or water contaminated with the parasite and results in prolonged and severe diarrhea. Cyclosporiasis is a seasonal illness and it usually occurs in places with tropical and subtropical climate, according to the CDC.
The FDA concluded that the fresh cilantro from Mexico was most likely contaminated with the parasite "shed from the intestinal tract of humans" and from irrigation and wash waters. The point of contamination occurred either in the growing fields or during processing and packing.
The ban on cilantro from certain farms in Puebla will be imposed from April 1 to August 31 every year based on the seasonality of previous cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the U.S.
Some U.S. restaurants said the cilantro ban will not affect their products. Taco Bell, which uses cilantro in a number of its dishes, said its cilantro supply comes from California, spokeswoman Virginia Ferguson told Bloomberg in an email. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. also claimed that the cilantro used for its guacamole, rice and corn salsa are from California, according to Bloomberg.
