Disturbing news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week. Some Mexican farms growing coriander or cilantro (depending on where you are from, but basically we are talking about the leafy part of the plant, not the seed) are littered with human faeces and toilet paper.
Yes, as a cilantro consumer myself I am very glad not to get my produce from across the pond. Apparently there have been reoccurring outbreaks of Cyclospora cayetanensis a human-specific protozoan parasite that causes flu like symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, muscle weakness etc. over the last 3 years in Texas.
The Centre for disease control (CDC) investigated and traced the 2013 and 2014 outbreaks to the state of Puebla, Mexico. After reviewing the data from the 2012 outbreak it also looked very likely that cilantro from this state had also caused this outbreak.
I won’t go into all of the disturbing things that were found on site visits to the suspected farms, click on the FDA link below to see all the gory details but I will leave you with this quote
“Conditions observed at multiple such firms in the state of Puebla included human feces and toilet paper found in growing fields and around facilities; inadequately maintained and supplied toilet and hand washing facilities ….. and water used for purposes such as washing cilantro vulnerable to contamination from sewage/septic systems.”