11 farms and packing houses that produce cilantro in Mexico have been inspected by the FDA and Mexican regulators from 2012 to 2015, with investigators discovering unsanitary conditions in many of them, according to CNN.
The Food and Drug Administration has implemented a partial import ban on some cilantro from Mexico after “objectionable conditions” were documented, according to the Washington Post.
Currently in question is reportedly the cilantro that was shipped out of the state of Puebla, Mexico from April 1 through August 31.
“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 (no soap, no toilet paper, no running water, no paper towels) or a complete lack of toilet and hand washing facilities; food-contact surfaces (such as plastic crates used to transport cilantro or tables where cilantro was cut and bundled) visibly dirty and not washed; and water used for purposes such as washing cilantro vulnerable to contamination from sewage/septic systems,” the import alert the FDA posted on Monday read.
One of the farm’s holding tank used to provide water to employees to wash their hands at the bathrooms reportedly tested positive for Cyclospora cayetanensis.
The herbs can reportedly no longer come into the United States without inspections and proper documentation, according to the alert.
The cilantro is reportedly linked to outbreaks of cyclosporiasis while at least 304 people in the U.S. came down with the parasitic illness, which can cause diarrhea and explosive bowel movements, since 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Chipotle reportedly doesn’t use cilantro from Puebla, nor does Taco Bell.
