U.S. Bars Mexican Onions Due to Hepatitis A Outbreak

Reuters ^ | 11-19-03

[asmith92008]

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..

[asmith92008]

So let me get this straight. We ship out our high paying manufacturing jobs. We ship out our white collar service jobs. In return, we get electronics that break after a couple of years and now devestating plagues. Wow, I love free trade.

[Kay Soze]

Why would you eat fruits and veggies from nations that dont even have potable water in their major metropolitan areas?

After all fruit and veggies are 90%+ water!

[beaversmom]

I haven't read any articles about this story, but how does Hepatitis A get spread all over so much produce?

[this_ol_patriot]

Feces with hepatitis or other infectious diseases get pooped out. The untreated poop is used to make the veggies grow. Veggies get picked and carry diseases to American restaurants or supermarkets. We eat them and get sick. In otherwords we import third world festering stinkholes and we love it.

[asmith92008]

Let's just say they don't "Lava tus manos" when working in the fields.

[IrishCatholic]

According to the World Trade Organization agreement we are required to recognise 45 countries food safety standards as equivelent to our own. This is the result.

[EGPWS]

Why would you eat fruits and veggies from nations that dont even have potable water in their major metropolitan areas?

Because they taste good and the fruits and veggies are good for me.

Do I win a prize for my answer?

[EGPWS]

we get electronics that break after a couple of years...

Gee, I have a Sony equipped houshold from my home theater system to my alarm clock and have never had an issue of concern with Sony in 5 years. (they must be American made and I just don't know it)

[Prodigal Son]

Well, I'd hardly call this a devastating plague.

[EGPWS]

Well, I'd hardly call this a devastating plague.

Give it some time and this post will become a plague.

Before you know it SUV's, homeowning, making a living in a "free enterprise system", and lawn mowers will be up for being devastating too.

[anglian]

Because the U. S. suffers more immigration than any country in the world, our health problems are growing faster. Certainly, the potential for biological disaster has come to the notice of terrorists and Al Qaeda.

Although the out break of Hepatitis A in Pennsylvania is the largest in U. S. history, it is just the tip of the iceberg in so far as disease and immigration is concerned. Thousands carry head lice, leprosy, tuberculosis, and hepatitis A, B, and C into the U. S. Tuberculosis, five years ago, was almost nonexistent in the USA. A school in Sebewaing, Michigan, reported 30 children and four teachers had tested positive for tuberculosis infections. In the past four years, 16,000 cases of multi drug resistant (MDR) TB, which was formerly endemic ONLY to Mexico, crossed over the borders inside the bodies of illegal aliens. These adults and their children have spread out across the country to work in fast foods and harvesting. Another outbreak occurred in Austin, Minnesota, where eight police officers tested positive for tuberculosis. A similar outbreak reportedly occurred in Portland, Maine where 28 tested positive for tuberculosis.
Leprosy totaled 900 cases in the USA in the past 40 years. In the past three years leprosy has infected over 7,000 people in the United States. It was brought in by immigrants from India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Then there is Chagas Disease. This disease is brought directly from Mexico and Latin America where it has infected over 18,000,000 people. One can contract it by eating uncooked food contaminated with infected feces of the Vinchuca Bug. It crosses over the border in the bodies of an average of 2,200 illegal aliens daily.

[panaxanax]

The practice of using human feces as fertilizer is still the norm for many countries that export both fresh and processed food to the United States.

Way back in the 60’s, in Japan, we used to watch the “benjo-man” hauling buckets of fresh poop directly to the fields and pouring it on his crops. Americans were strongly advised to avoid the locally grown veggies.

Maybe that’s why they call them “Turd World” countries.

[EGPWS]

One would think California, Texas, and Arizona would be screaming for help because of their demise. Shoot, and I thought immigration from the South was a major concern for these states and hench they would be a focus for disease concerns.

Haven't heard much from these locations in reference to the focus of this thread...

[EGPWS]

The practice of using human feces as fertilizer is still the norm for many countries that export both fresh and processed food to the United States.

If we could only ban it's use and chemically fertilize.

Boy wouldn't that be a breath of fresh air?

[panaxanax]

Are you implying that you’d rather eat food that had raw human feces on it than something that was chemically fertilized?

[Rebelbase]

How does the hepatitis move from farm to store?...does it "ride" on the outside of the vegetables or is it absorbed througout the vegetable by the feces acting as a fertilizer?

[Rebelbase]

One other thing, Western NC and East Tenn. had a hepatitis outbreak about a month ago that was traced to green onions in restaurants.

[panaxanax]

It would have been on the surface of the onions. Most likely from using untreated water to clean them prior to shipping.

[Dane]

It would have been on the surface of the onions. Most likely from using untreated water to clean them prior to shipping

Actually green onions grow close to the ground and when watered with contaminated water, the water is taken up within the scaly bulb of the green onions.

Other onions aren't as susceptible since they usualy have a tougher skin.

Also I have read that a lot of green onions are imported since green onions have to be hand picked which is very expensive. Other onions can be mechanically harvested.

[Rebelbase]

Thanks.