I had not heard about this until I read Rep Sam Farr’s letter regarding spinach. Freshcut reports that Mexico recently banned import of US lettuce due to health (security) concerns:
The Mexican government claims the ban is a preventative measure, but gave no timetable for when the ban would be lifted other than to say until U.S. lettuce does not “represent some risk for the health of Mexicans.�
The Monterey County Herald suggests the reaction by Mexico seems to have touched a few nerves:
California lettuce recalled as a precaution Sunday over E. coli fears tested negative for a sometimes deadly strain of the bacteria, company officials said Tuesday.
Yet even as The Nunes Company Inc. gave the all-clear on those 8,355 cartons of lettuce, local politicians and growers reacted in disbelief as Mexico banned the import of all U.S. lettuce as a result of the incident.
[…]
“Mexico telling us that they are not going to eat our lettuce because of possible water contamination would be like the United States banning tourism in Mexico,” said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, referring to diarrhea travelers sometimes experience in Mexico as a result of the country’s water. “What are they thinking?”
Not exactly how I would compare the risks, but I have to admit it is a colorful analogy. Seems like the supply-chain security card is going to be played more and more by nations wanting to find a convenient way to gain leverage even on their partners/allies. The sad thing is how little reliable information is available on the danger as well as the safety of produce on shelves. Should consumers trust their grocer, should the grocer trust the delivery company, should the delivery company trust the grower…
On Monday night, [John Baillie, president of Baillie Family Farms/Tri-Counties Packing, which grows and sells lettuce and celery] said, he watched an expert on a New York City newscast tell consumers to only buy vegetables that can be cooked.
“The last time I cooked iceberg lettuce, it looked like crap,” Baillie said, sarcastically.