Canada issues 'import alert' for Mexican Jalape?os and Serranos
Canada issues 'import alert' for Mexican Jalape?os and Serranos
Following the discovery of the same Salmonella Saintpaul strain that was identified in the current Salmonella outbreak in the United States in a Jalape?o pepper and a sample of irrigation water collected on a farm in Mexico, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency established an import alert and hold-and-test sampling plan for Mexican Jalape?o and Serrano peppers entering Canada.
According a release issued Aug. 1, "Jalape?o and Serrano peppers identified as originating from Mexico will be held at the destination pending the results of analysis for Salmonella Saintpaul. The CFIA will allow the importation of other types of peppers from Mexico, as well as Jalape?o and Serrano peppers from countries other than Mexico. The requirements apply to all shipments of Mexican peppers," including bell peppers, "imported in bulk, in shipping containers and in consumer containers in a fresh state. Shippers of Mexican peppers should implement these import instructions," including identifying the type of pepper "immediately in order to avoid any delays at the border."
Rene Cardinal, acting national manager of the CFIA's fresh fruit and vegetable program, told The Produce News Aug. 5 that "the CFIA and Health Canada have been monitoring the [U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's] investigation in the U.S. Although we haven't had any illnesses here from product consumed in Canada, five Canadians have been reported ill, four have been confirmed to have been traveling in the U.S. with the fifth still under investigation. Once the FDA found a positive on a Jalape?o pepper, we worked to develop a sampling plan for Mexican peppers the week before" the alert was issued.
Mr. Cardinal said that because of the harmonized code for peppers, the agency "cannot make distinctions between Jalape?o, Serrano and bell peppers. Looking at past data at Customs, we didn't know how [many peppers] were imported. The import alert is more to identify the types of peppers coming in, and if it is bell peppers, there are no problems and they can proceed. But if it is Serranos or Jalape?os, we will do a hold and test."
He said that the CFIA has taken some samples since the alert was issued, but the results had not come back as of Aug. 5. The testing, excluding the time of shipping of the sample, takes about three days. If there is a presumptive positive, another round of testing that takes about five days will be conducted.
While the volume of Jalape?os and Serrano peppers imported by Canada is relatively small, especially when compared to bell peppers and also due to the Canadian deal being in full swing, Mr. Cardinal expects the alert to be in place for about a month, at which time the results will be evaluated.
"If after a month we take 'x' number of samples and everything is fine, we may decide to finish the alert," he said. "On the other side of the coin, if we have a lot of samples with a lot of positives, that means we have a problem. And in that case, we will pursue it. We want to prevent any illnesses here in Canada."
According a release issued Aug. 1, "Jalape?o and Serrano peppers identified as originating from Mexico will be held at the destination pending the results of analysis for Salmonella Saintpaul. The CFIA will allow the importation of other types of peppers from Mexico, as well as Jalape?o and Serrano peppers from countries other than Mexico. The requirements apply to all shipments of Mexican peppers," including bell peppers, "imported in bulk, in shipping containers and in consumer containers in a fresh state. Shippers of Mexican peppers should implement these import instructions," including identifying the type of pepper "immediately in order to avoid any delays at the border."
Rene Cardinal, acting national manager of the CFIA's fresh fruit and vegetable program, told The Produce News Aug. 5 that "the CFIA and Health Canada have been monitoring the [U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's] investigation in the U.S. Although we haven't had any illnesses here from product consumed in Canada, five Canadians have been reported ill, four have been confirmed to have been traveling in the U.S. with the fifth still under investigation. Once the FDA found a positive on a Jalape?o pepper, we worked to develop a sampling plan for Mexican peppers the week before" the alert was issued.
Mr. Cardinal said that because of the harmonized code for peppers, the agency "cannot make distinctions between Jalape?o, Serrano and bell peppers. Looking at past data at Customs, we didn't know how [many peppers] were imported. The import alert is more to identify the types of peppers coming in, and if it is bell peppers, there are no problems and they can proceed. But if it is Serranos or Jalape?os, we will do a hold and test."
He said that the CFIA has taken some samples since the alert was issued, but the results had not come back as of Aug. 5. The testing, excluding the time of shipping of the sample, takes about three days. If there is a presumptive positive, another round of testing that takes about five days will be conducted.
While the volume of Jalape?os and Serrano peppers imported by Canada is relatively small, especially when compared to bell peppers and also due to the Canadian deal being in full swing, Mr. Cardinal expects the alert to be in place for about a month, at which time the results will be evaluated.
"If after a month we take 'x' number of samples and everything is fine, we may decide to finish the alert," he said. "On the other side of the coin, if we have a lot of samples with a lot of positives, that means we have a problem. And in that case, we will pursue it. We want to prevent any illnesses here in Canada."
