021053 Mexico Strongly Committed to Food Safety

Washington - Mexican officials expressed their surprise and disappointment at the FDA announcement on October 28 to unilaterally impose a countrywide ban on all imports of cantaloupe from Mexico without inspection based on alleged unsanitary conditions.

Mexico is one of the world's top exporters of fresh produce and through the years it has built an excellent record on both safety and quality. "We were working cooperatively to address the issues of concern to FDA and were making significant progress," stated Enrique Lobo, minister for Agricultural Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C. "The FDA made its decision without consultation and without any immediate triggering food safety incident, even after 7 months of close cooperation". Mexico engaged in this cooperative effort even though FDA never provided conclusive evidence linking a food borne illness outbreak to Mexican cantaloupe, making a countrywide ban completely inappropriate.

"Many of the companies caught in the net have never been associated with an incident and have worked diligently with Mexican and U.S. officials. They already apply Good Agricultural and Manufacturing Practices and have certification from third party U.S. companies," said Lobo. "The shipping season has recently commenced and 59 shipments have passed FDA inspection and entered the U.S. without any problem. The FDA action at this time is inexplicable and has threatened our working relationship."

The sudden action by FDA has stunned Mexico, particularly in light of the ongoing cooperative initiatives between the two countries. On September 4, 2001, in Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, signed a Cooperative Arrangement among the Departments of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture and the Secretariat of Health and the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food of the United Mexican States "Regarding the Cooperation to Enhance Activities of Mutual Interest in the Area of the Safety of Foods for Human Consumption." This year Mexico and the United States signed the Consultative Committee on Agriculture and the first meeting under the new agreement took place just this month in Mexico City. Although the purpose of these agreements is to work cooperatively and openly to provide early warnings for actions, in this instance the U.S. acted unilaterally without first raising the cantaloupe issue in these bilateral meetings- and gave Mexico only a few hours notice before imposing the ban.

FDA and the Government of Mexico have been in close cooperation and communication on this issue. It is our understanding that FDA officials started the decision process on the ban on October 21st, 2002 without providing Mexico with an early warning. This additional time would have given the Government and the industry an opportunity to prepare an alternative plan to continue exports while enhancing protection for American consumers.

Since the first days of the current Mexican Federal Administration, agricultural and health authorities have worked in close collaboration with FDA, and this cooperation has led to joint investigations and inspections. In addition, Mexico has adopted specific reforms in food safety for cantaloupes based on the recommendations of FDA.

The discriminatory nature of the FDA action is apparent to Mexico as many growers in the United States and other countries do not meet the standards being imposed on Mexico. Similar problems have occurred with imports from countries other than Mexico, but none but Mexico has been subject to a countrywide ban. On this basis, Mexico is also considering its options under NAFTA and WTO.

The Mexican government's request is that FDA immediately allows the entry of Mexican cantaloupes to the United States from those producers that are applying programs of Good Agricultural and Manufacturing Practices, have no history of detections of salmonella contamination, and are endorsed by the Mexican Authorities. All of these firms are ready to receive visits from auditors or FDA officials to determine if their operations are in compliance with the guidelines published by the FDA.

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