Baja California tomatoes could start crossing the border
Baja California tomatoes could start crossing the border
WASHINGTON -- Baja California tomato shippers were hoping to start shipping product to the United States as early as June 16 as businesses rushed to draw up certificates and other paperwork to meet the Food & Drug Administration's condition for adding the Mexican state to its all-clear list.
"This is excellent news because it really shows these decisions are science based," said Allison Moore, spokesperson for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. Those growers couldn't be implicated in the outbreak because they weren't shipping when people started getting sick, she said.
FDA said that the Baja California harvest began April 26, and the first illness that reportedly matched the Salmonella outbreak strain was April 10.
Tomatoes from Baja California can be shipped to the United States with a certificate issued by the Secretaria de Fomento Agropecuario del Gobierno del Estado de Baja California.
According to the Produce Marketing Association, each lot of the Mexican tomatoes must carry a certificate that says the tomatoes were grown and packed in the FDA-listed region. Growers and packers cannot co-mingle tomatoes from other areas and must ship their products through two points: Otay Mesa and Caliexico, said PMA.
Ms. Moore said that she expects a range of responses to the Mexican tomatoes from skittish buyers. "We will have people with questions about the product," she said. Mexican growers are extremely frustrated as it's been nearly two weeks since tomatoes could be shipped. Some are diverting tomatoes to the Mexican market, and some businesses are holding the product in cold rooms at the border or holding them at the farm, she added.
With no identified farm, packing operation or washing shed traced to the outbreak, FDA said at a June 16 press conference that it does not have the authority to stop any tomatoes at the border.
"Until we see a specific area [responsible for the outbreak], we don't have the authority to stop them," said David Acheson, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, who has been holding nearly daily press briefings on the tomato situation. "No ban, no import alert because there is no focus to do either," he said.
FDA has yet to rule out the possibility that bad tomatoes could still be on the market, he said.
Dr. Acheson said that U.S. and Mexican authorities were discussing several issues this week, including whether health officials are seeing the implicated outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul in Mexico.
Along with Baja California, FDA added two U.S. states -- Indiana and New Mexico -- to the safety list on June 14.
Ms. Moore said that there are other Mexican states under consideration for the all-clear list, but the issue gets complicated as the tomato market was under transition at the time of the outbreak discovery. Some regions in a state may have phased out production, while other regions are ready to harvest, she said. Mexican and FDA authorities need to sort it all out.
FDA officials are hoping that a cluster of nine cases tied to tomatoes and the rare Salmonella strain found in one geographic area will guide health investigators to the cause of the nationwide outbreak.
"That's a solid lead," said Dr. Acheson, who refrained from identifying the location of the illnesses. "I'm optimistic the cluster will help us."
As of June 17, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention had yet to update its tally of 228 illnesses across 23 states in the outbreak linked to consuming raw red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes. But those numbers are expected to change, according to Ian Williams, chief of CDC's OutbreakNet Team.
In the meantime, Florida has been testing its tomatoes for Salmonella and has not found the strain. Dr. Acheson said he was not surprised since the tomato growing season had ended by May 1 for the central and southern regions.
With the certificate program in place, retailers such as McDonald's announced that they would once again begin serving sliced tomatoes at fast-food restaurants.
McDonalds issued the following statement:
"At McDonald's, the safety and well-being of our customers is a top priority. We are in the process of reintroducing sliced tomatoes to our U.S. restaurants from those areas identified as safe, by the FDA. All McDonald's restaurants across the U.S. will be serving tomatoes again in the next seven to 10 days."
The statement continued, "McDonald's food safety and quality control standards are among the highest in the industry. McDonald's voluntarily stopped serving tomatoes in an abundance of caution and as a precautionary measure only. McDonald's was not implicated by the FDA. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but food safety and quality at McDonald's will not be compromised."
"This is excellent news because it really shows these decisions are science based," said Allison Moore, spokesperson for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. Those growers couldn't be implicated in the outbreak because they weren't shipping when people started getting sick, she said.
FDA said that the Baja California harvest began April 26, and the first illness that reportedly matched the Salmonella outbreak strain was April 10.
Tomatoes from Baja California can be shipped to the United States with a certificate issued by the Secretaria de Fomento Agropecuario del Gobierno del Estado de Baja California.
According to the Produce Marketing Association, each lot of the Mexican tomatoes must carry a certificate that says the tomatoes were grown and packed in the FDA-listed region. Growers and packers cannot co-mingle tomatoes from other areas and must ship their products through two points: Otay Mesa and Caliexico, said PMA.
Ms. Moore said that she expects a range of responses to the Mexican tomatoes from skittish buyers. "We will have people with questions about the product," she said. Mexican growers are extremely frustrated as it's been nearly two weeks since tomatoes could be shipped. Some are diverting tomatoes to the Mexican market, and some businesses are holding the product in cold rooms at the border or holding them at the farm, she added.
With no identified farm, packing operation or washing shed traced to the outbreak, FDA said at a June 16 press conference that it does not have the authority to stop any tomatoes at the border.
"Until we see a specific area [responsible for the outbreak], we don't have the authority to stop them," said David Acheson, FDA's associate commissioner for foods, who has been holding nearly daily press briefings on the tomato situation. "No ban, no import alert because there is no focus to do either," he said.
FDA has yet to rule out the possibility that bad tomatoes could still be on the market, he said.
Dr. Acheson said that U.S. and Mexican authorities were discussing several issues this week, including whether health officials are seeing the implicated outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul in Mexico.
Along with Baja California, FDA added two U.S. states -- Indiana and New Mexico -- to the safety list on June 14.
Ms. Moore said that there are other Mexican states under consideration for the all-clear list, but the issue gets complicated as the tomato market was under transition at the time of the outbreak discovery. Some regions in a state may have phased out production, while other regions are ready to harvest, she said. Mexican and FDA authorities need to sort it all out.
FDA officials are hoping that a cluster of nine cases tied to tomatoes and the rare Salmonella strain found in one geographic area will guide health investigators to the cause of the nationwide outbreak.
"That's a solid lead," said Dr. Acheson, who refrained from identifying the location of the illnesses. "I'm optimistic the cluster will help us."
As of June 17, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention had yet to update its tally of 228 illnesses across 23 states in the outbreak linked to consuming raw red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes. But those numbers are expected to change, according to Ian Williams, chief of CDC's OutbreakNet Team.
In the meantime, Florida has been testing its tomatoes for Salmonella and has not found the strain. Dr. Acheson said he was not surprised since the tomato growing season had ended by May 1 for the central and southern regions.
With the certificate program in place, retailers such as McDonald's announced that they would once again begin serving sliced tomatoes at fast-food restaurants.
McDonalds issued the following statement:
"At McDonald's, the safety and well-being of our customers is a top priority. We are in the process of reintroducing sliced tomatoes to our U.S. restaurants from those areas identified as safe, by the FDA. All McDonald's restaurants across the U.S. will be serving tomatoes again in the next seven to 10 days."
The statement continued, "McDonald's food safety and quality control standards are among the highest in the industry. McDonald's voluntarily stopped serving tomatoes in an abundance of caution and as a precautionary measure only. McDonald's was not implicated by the FDA. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but food safety and quality at McDonald's will not be compromised."
