US Bars Mexican Onions Due to Hepatitis a Outbreak

Reuters ^ | 11-19-03 | N/A

[JustPiper]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has halted imports of Mexican green onions suspected of causing an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened more than 500 people in Pennsylvania, a Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) official told Reuters on Wednesday.

FDA Deputy Commissioner Lester Crawford said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Friday will release an update on the outbreak, including the food source that has caused at least three deaths and where it originated.

Health officials believe Mexican green onions served at a Chi-Chi's restaurant were the source of the Pennsylvania outbreak. Recent cases of the liver disease in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia have also been linked to scallions.

"We are actually detaining the (green onions) at the border at the present time," Crawford said after testifying on an unrelated issue at the House Governmental Affairs committee. "This is the best bet of the source, but has not yet been finally confirmed."

Crawford said there were no indications the hepatitis A outbreak was intentional.

Hepatitis A is usually mild but can cause fever, exhaustion, vomiting, abdominal pain and in rare cases death.

As of Tuesday, 520 cases of the illness had been confirmed in Pennsylvania, the state health department said on its Web site.

The Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant chain voluntarily pulled green onions off the menu at all its more than 100 restaurants after employees and patrons of Beaver Valley, Pennsylvania, restaurant became ill from hepatitis A.

The chain is owned by Irvine, California-based Prandium Inc..

[JustPiper]

Ping!

[doug from upland]

Banning onions is the first step. Next: their citizens.

[CaptainK]

I go out of my way to avoid Mexican produce.

[JustPiper]

Hep A- Yahoo Health

[Kuksool]

I wish all Mexican imports are banned.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Recent image of illegal waiting to get drivers licenses in TENNESSEE!

Of course Mexican green onions is a much bigger issue....

Block by block, city by city, state by state......

Go Bush

[per loin]

Will the WTO over rule the US government on this one too?

[1rudeboy]

LOL

[RightWhale]

Are they talking about leeks?

[KantianBurke]

a "spot on" ping

[Oatka]

Ain't global trade with Third World countries great? Ever wonder what they fertilize their crops with?

Two neighbors in my small Nevada community have some down with stomach parasites that ended up costing them $340 a month (times 6 months) to control. It took the doc three months just to find out what the problem was. He said these parasites are usually found in crops grown in unclean fields. Both patients were big-time fresh veggie eaters, especially of lettuce, which the doc says is the main suspect.

If the stuff isn't marked "grown in the U.S." or the fresh produce "specialist" can't confirm, I don't buy it.

I'd rather put up with the distant threat of U.S. pesticides than internal parasites that our medicine is unfamiliar with.

[Amerigomag]

My three bets.

Eventually the contaminant will be isolated to just the one restaurant.

Eventually the chain will have to admit it employs illegal aliens.

Eventually the FDA will attribute this outbreak to the personal habits of one employee in that restaurant.

Never will the FDA publically acknowledge that an illegal immigrant, because of poor personal hygene, infected hundreds of US citizens.

[jragan2001]

Here in Gwinnett County GA there was a small bakery that
was closed down last year by the Health Dept due to an
infestation of bugs that was found in the back storage
room around the baking pans and around the flour. This
bakery was run by Mexicans, who didn't seem to know
anything about sanitary practices for bakeries.

[jragan2001]

Especially Computers (yes, computers are even made in
Mexico). I bought a Compaq Presario computer earlier
this year, and unfortunately, discovered it was made
in Mexico after my time to return it for a refund.

[FITZ]

We can't bar onions --- isn't it a NAFTA thing? We're breaking parts of NAFTA if we do. All this free trade we're benefitting from ----- no one is going to want to pay more for green onions even if they don't have human poop all over them.

If we start with onions, the Mexicans will ban something like chickens (actually they already have), then we'll ban something else and so on ---- and there goes the wonderful NAFTA and we'll find ourselves paying more for green onions because they're clean.

[Ditter]

No they are not talking about leeks. Green onions look similar but are much smaller.

[Lijahsbubbe]

We are actually detaining the (green onions) at the border at the present time," Crawford said

I'm envisioning border patrols with batons, holding back green onions who are lined up at the border, straining to get in.

[FITZ]

Two neighbors in my small Nevada community have some down with stomach parasites that ended up costing them $340 a month (times 6 months) to control.

But think ---- they got those vegetables cheaper because of where they came from ---- maybe --- I don't see all the cheap lettuce they keep saying we're getting ---- I see lettuce selling for over a dollar a head --- I remember when it was much cheaper than that ---- but that was actually before NAFTA. What's crazy is that in Mexico no one would be eating uncooked vegetables because everyone knows that human sewage is used to water and fertilize the crops ---- so our country brings it all in and people die. They know how the fields are fertilized there.

[Terridan]

Jesus... so they banned the onions... what about the undocumented workers here in Kalifornia, who are not tracked and never see the inside of a health dept.? It is a joke, we must be careful with all produce and meats. Make sure all of your vaccinations are current, and for us over 30, get boosters for all vaccines!