Hundreds Sick From Cilantro Grown in TP-Strewn Fields

The FDA announced a partial ban on Monday after cilantro imported between 2013 and 2014 was linked to an outbreak of stomach illnesses in the United States, Huffington Post reports. Five of them have been directly linked to the parasite, and eight had “objectionable conditions”, the FDA said. U.S. and Mexican health authorities investigated 11 farms and packing houses in Puebla over the last three years.

“Districts may detain without physical examination shipments of fresh cilantro from Mexico offered for entry from April 1 through August 31 of every year, unless the cilantro is offered for entry from a firm listed on the Green List of this import alert”, according to the alert. Additional symptoms may include loss of appetite, fatigue, weight loss, abdominal cramps, bloating, increased gas, nausea, vomiting and a low fever. Last year, at least 304 people in the U.S. came down with the parasitic illness, which can cause diarrhea and explosive bowel movements, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A recent surge of cases in Texas – including 77 cases in Travis County and almost 50 in the Metroplex, has led to an investigation by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The US has banned imports of cilantro from several farms in the Mexican state of Puebla after an investigation found growing fields littered with human feces and toilet paper.

The current months have seen a series of outbreaks and recalls.

Mexican and U.S. inspectors also found food-contact surfaces and equipment that was visibly dirty and reported water used for washing cilantro was vulnerable to contamination from sewage and septic systems.

Another reasons the FDS suspects the link in the outbreaks is the lack of toilets in the farms for employees, according to investigators.

Those who have purchased cilantro from Mexico are advised to wash the herb. Cooking it will kill the parasite. The ban will continue until health authorities can prove the product is safe.