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<p>SAN DIEGO -- Mexican green onions under investigation by federal authorities were cleaned with contaminated water and packed in dirty ice, a top Mexican government official said Thursday.</p> <p>Despite those violations, Mexican authorities have found no evidence the imported scallions -- grown at four different farms -- were tainted with the hepatitis A virus, said Javier Trujillo Arriaga, director of the Agriculture Department's division of health, safety and quality.</p>

<p>MEXICALI VALLEY, Mexico -- Jorge Vidales and his wife, Estela, work side by side in the fields here from September through May. The couple, both 30, have been harvesting green onions for a living since they were 15.</p> <p>Most days they get up around 6, get breakfast for their seven children, then get on a truck that takes them to the fields. Their 14-year-old daughter, Alma Rosa, takes care of Gustavo, 3, and Alex, 18 months. The other children -- Hector, 8, Antonio, 10, Jorge Luis, 12, and Arturo, 13 -- attend a nearby school. Estela Valladores de Vidales is seven months pregnant with their eighth.</p>

Sales of Mexican Green Onions Plummet After U.S. Hepatitis Outbreak Traced to Northwestern Mexico The Associated Press SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mexico Nov. 25 — Sales of Mexican green onions plunged after a hepatitis outbreak in the United States was traced to northwestern Mexico, forcing farmers in this valley to defend the safety of their produce and find ways to stay afloat financially. Many U.S. distributors are slashing orders, even though it hasn't been proved that Mexico was to blame for the outbreak. Green onions are big business in the area, making up 90 percent of the fruit and vegetables...

SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Mexico — Sales of Mexican green onions have dropped dramatically after a U.S. hepatitis outbreak was traced to northwestern Mexico, forcing farmers in this valley to defend the safety of their produce and find ways to stay afloat financially. Many U.S. distributors are slashing orders, even though it hasn't been proved that Mexico was to blame for the outbreak. "We don't have the most sophisticated equipment in the world, but we take a lot of care with hygiene," green onion producer Salvador Navarro said. Green onions are big business here, making up 90 percent of the...

"Immigration and Disease: It's Enough to Make You Sick" Uncontrolled and illegal immigration to the United States causes many problems for the nation. Just the tax revenues spent on welfare programs, education, health care, and housing for illegal immigrants is enough to make one question our immigration policies. Now, we can add another problem and cost associated with illegal immigration: illegal immigrants can make you sick. According to an article at newsobserver.com and other news sources, a deadly Pennsylvania hepatitis outbreak has spread panic among many residents of the area. ''More than 500 people got sick and three have died...

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...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/thrive/2003/nov/15/111509066.html Surging

According to a press conference by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health, the cause of the Hepatitis A outbreak, that has so far infected 575 people and caused 3 deaths, came from green onions. All those infected ate at a Chi-Chi's restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall located in Center Township, PA.

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...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — While investigators work to pinpoint the cause of a western Pennsylvania hepatitis A outbreak that has killed three people and sickened more than 490, some food safety experts say green onions are particularly hard to keep clean. Luke LaBorde, assistant professor of food science at Penn State University, said Friday that the way green onions are grown and eaten, even the structure of the onion itself, can make them particularly likely to transmit diseases like hepatitis A.A study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that green onions were more likely to be contaminated with...