Tackling Produce Safety —The U.S. And Mexico Enter A New Partnership

By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online

The safety of Mexican produce just got an upgrade as the U.S. and Mexico will collaborate in order to ensure the continued import of fresh produce without bringing in foodborne illnesses 

A Produce Safety Partnership Statement of Intent has been signed between Mexico and the U.S., the goal being to improve the safety of produce being imported from south of our border. The FDA and the USDA have been collaborating with the equivalent food safety agencies in Mexico. Representatives for the National Service for Agro-Alimentary Public Health, Safety and Quality’s (SENASICA) and Mexico’s Federal Commission for the Protection from Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) were present. Michael R. Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine and Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of the USDA, traveled to Mexico on Monday, July 21. Among other activities, they conducted meetings with the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) and the Ministry of Health. Both SENASICA and COFEPRIS are under the auspices of these Mexican government regulatory agencies respectively.

The statement of intent may just be a two-page document, but according to Taylor, in his FDA blog, it represents a strategy designed to unite both countries in regards to food safety.  The FDA estimates that about one-third of FDA-regulated food products consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico.  Hamburg also blogged about the trip, emphasizing the fact that Mexico exports approximately $7.7 billion of fresh fruits and vegetables annually. This collaborative effort is expected to improve the safety of Mexican produce on both sides of the border.

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Mexico has long been a trading partner of the U.S., especially when it comes to fresh produce. Mexico’s climate makes it ideal for growing staples, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and green beans. Additionally, we look to Mexico for a good amount of our citrus fruits, melons, grapes, as well as tropical treats, like avocados and mangos. All of these fresh items are impossible to produce in most of the U.S. during the winter — unless it’s done in a green house, which is labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive, driving costs up drastically. Some of them are not grown on U.S. soil at all.  

However, the benefits of importing produce from Mexico has, up until now, come  at a high cost. The history of large outbreaks of foodborne illnesses traced back to Mexican produce are well known:

• In 1997 over a million pounds of frozen strawberries for a school lunch program were recalled. They were the source for a Hepatitis A outbreak. First identified in Calhoun County, MI, the strawberries originated in Mexico and then were processed in CA, and shipped to six states. The primary outbreak of 153 cases led to the prophylactic immunization of thousands.
• In 2003, another Hepatitis A outbreak was traced back to green onions imported from Mexico. At the time it was the biggest Hepatitis A outbreak in U.S. history, killing three and sickening almost 600. Though not confirmed at the time, besides the outbreak in PA, three other Mexican companies were under investigation for similar outbreaks in TN and GA. Almost 10,000 people received hepatitis A shots in PA in an attempt to reduce the chance of contracting the disease after exposure.
• In 2008, more than 1,300 people in 43 states were infected with Salmonella linked to jalapeño and Serrano peppers imported from Mexico.
• Most recently, in 2013, two different outbreaks of the parasite Cyclospora resulted in 631 illnesses and the hospitalization of 49 people in 25 states. The affected products were salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico and fresh cilantro imported from Peubla, Mexico.
• Also in 2013, imported cucumbers from a greenhouse in Culiacán, Mexico, caused a salmonella outbreak sickening 84 and hospitalizing 17 in 18 states.  

As the demand for fresh produce in the U.S. increases, the need for a Mexican safety partnership becomes critically evident. The FDA says the partnership will focus on preventing foodborne illnesses, first by a free exchange of information, geared toward understanding the produce safety systems in both countries. Education and outreach materials will be developed to support industry compliance and verification methods will be standardized. Additionally, the U.S. and Mexico will more closely collaborate on outbreak response and trace-back efforts.  This last will involve augmenting cooperation on laboratory activities and developing a culture of transparency.

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This partnership has been a long time coming. Along with the enactment of FSMA, Mexico deserves kudos for amending its own food-safety standards. We can all hope this will be a blueprint to put more efficient global food safety partnerships in place, effectively reducing the burden on our understaffed and underfunded government agencies.