US Salmonella Scare Floods Mexican Market
Mexico’s US$1 billion tomato industry is likely to suffer a serious setback when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers against three types of raw tomatoes that have sickened 167 people in 17 warned U.S. states. FDA warned it after a salmonella scare was circulated in the U.S. FDA further said that tomatoes from several counties in Florida are also under suspicion.
Mexican growers and government officials discard such allegations and say it has brought exports to a halt and could harm Mexico’s billion dollar tomato industry. Agriculture Secretary Alberto Cardenas said “What we hope is that they finish their investigation soon“. A team of Mexican officials flew to Washington to discuss the matter with the FDA.
However the tomato export has suffered a blow as some consumers already associate the outbreak with Mexican produce. Jesus Macias, sales manager at the Productora Agricola Industrial del Noreste, a tomato farm that supplies 50,000 boxes of tomatoes a day to an importer in Chula Vista, California, said “We can’t sell a single box of tomatoes“.
But most consumers don’t know about the salmonella scare, and are not alarmed yet. Some shoppers said they’re more careful than Americans in preparing produce. It is worthwhile to say that nearly 120,000 people were sickened by salmonella in Mexico last year.
Source: TH E INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
Filed under Health
You may also like to read
- Salmonella Bacteria Found In Mars Petcare Dry Food
- Latest outbreak of salmonella bacteria made new victims in Washington and Oregon
- FDA Warning On Tomatoes Removed
- Bioniche Wins FDA Approval for Phase 2 Bladder Cancer Trial
- Billion Dollar Pakistan Medical Tourism Industry in Kidney Transplantation Shuts Down Overnight -
