Thread: Mexico disputes U.S. findings on salmonella

Mexico disputes U.S. findings on salmonella
By E. Eduardo Castillo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.01.2008
MEXICO CITY — Mexican agricultural officials said Thursday that U.S. colleagues hunting for the source of a salmonella outbreak are rushing to a conclusion about finding the strain at a Mexican pepper farm.
The salmonella sample that one U.S. official called "a smoking gun" was taken from a water tank that had not been used for more than two months to irrigate crops, said the director of Mexico's Farm Food Quality Service, Enrique Sanchez.
Sanchez told a news conference on Thursday that the tank held rainwater and suggested that roaming cattle or other factors could have recently contaminated the tank with the same strain of salmonella that has sickened 1,300 people in the United States since June.
On Wednesday, Dr. David Acheson, the food safety chief for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, described the finding of the salmonella strain at a farm in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon as a key breakthrough in the case.
"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King, who directs the center for food-borne illnesses at the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sanchez said the U.S. officials "totally lacked scientific evidence" to make such statements, and added that they had broken a confidentiality agreement by announcing findings before their investigation is completed.
"We're eating this same produce in Mexico, and we haven't had any problems," Sanchez said.
He suggested the FDA officials confused the source of the sample because the tainted water was found on a farm in the municipality of Hidalgo in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas — not in neighboring Nuevo Leon as the FDA reported.
The FDA issued a statement later Thursday saying it was "surprised and disappointed" by the Mexican response.
"We are confident of our findings," the statement said. "FDA's analytical methods are publicly available."
Miguel Angel Toscano of Mexico's Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks said Mexican investigators also took samples from the soil, water and vegetables the FDA had tested and found salmonella in some of the samples taken in Tamaulipas. But he said more tests need to be done to determine the strain.
Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno pepper to another farm in Tamaulipas. Both farms shipped through a packing facility in Nuevo Leon, raising the possibility that contamination could have occurred there.
The FDA has advised consumers to avoid raw serrano and jalapeno peppers from Mexico and any foods that contain them.


http://www.azstarnet.com/news/250802

The salmonella sample that one U.S. official called "a smoking gun" was taken from a water tank that had not been used for more than two months to irrigate crops, said the director of Mexico's Farm Food Quality Service, Enrique Sanchez.

And thier have been reported cases of salmonella in the USA for the last 4 months.

Sanchez told a news conference on Thursday that the tank held rainwater and suggested that roaming cattle or other factors could have recently contaminated the tank with the same strain of salmonella that has sickened 1,300 people in the United States since June.

I can see it now a cow climbed into the water tank,the last time I checked cows can't climb and again people in the USA have been getting sick from this for over 4 months.

I think the bottom line here is that our useless government held up releasing who the real culprit was (mexico) until there was just so much pressure they finally had to release the info.

We need to call our congressmen and demand they start the country of orogin labels ASAP !

The FDA issued a statement later Thursday saying it was "surprised and disappointed" by the Mexican response



Might I suggest that the appropriate response should have been "not surprised and disgusted by Mexico's response".

To hear Mexico tell it, they are a country so superior and divine, that on any given Sunday angels fly out it's collective rear end as trumpets and harps sound in the background, so should it really surprise anyone that they would be displeased over this finding? I'm thinking no.

It is really a huge mistake to be importing anything from a country which does not adhere to the same standards, but particularly food items. And this is something which goes for any country, not just the US. We are far from the only ones effected by things like this.

Ideally, items for our use and consumption should be produced here. But, if that isn't an option, then at least make sure there is someone to oversee this stuff to make sure that what is being produced is up to our standards if it is ever to be shipped into this country.