These fields didn’t just have human feces and toilet paper-according to the report, there were all kinds of unsanitary conditions, including “inadequately maintained and supplied toilet and hand washing facilities (no soap, no toilet paper, no running water, no paper towels) or a complete lack of toilet and hand washing facilities”, and unwashed surfaces where the cilantro was either being cut or transported.
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Cyclospora, a parasite that lives in subtropical regions, causes an infection called cyclosporiasis when ingested in its mature state.
An import alert from the FDA says, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state public health officials have identified annually recurring outbreaks (in 2012, 2013, and 2014) of cyclosporiasis in the United States which have been associated with fresh cilantro from the state of Puebla, Mexico”.
They also found dirty containers that held cilantro, and, at one time, water that tested positive for the cyclospora parasite that caused the stomach illnesses, particularly in Texas. Another reason the FDA thinks the outbreaks are linked is because of the Cyclospora parasite. The major symptom is watery diarrhea which can last anywhere from a few days to a few months.
The cyclosporiasis outbreak last year affected 19 states, though 64 percent were reported from Texas, where 57 percent of people who got sick said they ate fresh cilantro before becoming ill. The illness is most often found in the tropics and subtropics, and is not common in the US.
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The move comes after health officials found human feces and toilet paper in growing fields, which have been linked to hundreds of intestinal illnesses dating back to 2012. The facilities will have to prove that conditions are sanitary before the ban is lifted. The seasonality of the previous C. cayetanensis outbreaks warrants detaining cilantro from the state of Puebla, Mexico during April 1 through August 31 of every year.
