Thread: Salmonella found in basil grown in Mexico

Salmonella found in basil grown in Mexico

From Bloomberg News
3:47 PM PDT, July 11, 2008


Salmonella, the bacteria that has sickened more than 1,000 Americans who ate tainted produce since April, has also been found in Thai basil grown in Mexico.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration identified salmonella during random testing of basil imported by Lucky Green Trading Inc., a family-run company based in Garden Grove, the agency said Friday. The product has been recalled from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada, where it was distributed directly and sold at retail stores.

FDA officials have boosted inspections of Mexican exports as they look for the origin of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that has spread to 42 states since mid-April. Although the focus has been on certain types of tomatoes grown in Mexico and Florida, officials said this week that jalapenos caused some illnesses and that serrano peppers and cilantro also were under investigation.

"Every importer from Mexico has to go through the inspection," said Tony Ton, whose family runs Lucky Green. "That's a new thing. Every year, we used to have one or two occasions where FDA has to do a random inspection."

No illnesses have been linked to Lucky Green's herbs. Their Thai basil comes from the town of Santa Rosa Tapachula in Nayarit, a state on the central-west coast of Mexico. The company doesn't sell any other products this time of the year, Ton said.

Three shipments of Thai basil from the same Mexican grower passed inspection last week, so Lucky Green is looking to see whether the latest batch may have been contaminated by another grower in the same area, Ton said.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-b ... 0493.story

At the grocery store today I came upon grapes @$1.29 per pound. The sign said "overstock sale" . NO ONE was buying them. Guess why?

MEXICAN FARMERS SHOULD PLAN ON SELLING THEIR PRODUCE IN MEXICO. NO ONE HERE IS GOING TO BUY IT. THEY ARE WASTING THEIR TIME AND TRANSPORTATION COSTS SENDING IT HERE.

AT THE SUPERMARKET THE OTHER DAY I NOTICED OVER RIPE TOMATOES IN THE BIN. IN FACT THERE WAS HARDLY ANYONE IN THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT AT ALL COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE STORE. I THINK THEY ARE BUYING PRODUCE LOCALLY OR GROWING SOME OR ALL OF IT THEMSELVES.