Guest guest Posted July 30, 2007 Report Share Posted July 30, 2007 An article of great interest. tina.castanares@... > > July 29, 2007 > > > Health News > > > Poisons Across Borders > > > Public health alerts on both sides of the US-Mexico border > have raised new questions about food consumption habits, > corporate control of the food supply and the effectiveness > of binational food safety monitoring. Last week, California > health officials warned consumers not to eat Mexican > tamarind pulp candy bearing the De La brand after > tests showed lead levels exceeding the state health > standard. > > Encountering lead levels of 0.12 and 0.18 parts per million > in tamarind candy, the test samples exceeded the California > standard of 0.10 parts per million. > > Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department of > Public Health stressed that exposure to lead can lead to > lifetime learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. > Since 2002, California officials have issued several > warnings about lead levels in spicy tamarind candy > manufactured in Mexico. Imported candies include products > made by subsidiaries of the Mars and Hershey companies. > > Crespo, export manager for the Dulces de la y > Chupaletas company, charged that public health authorities > were overreacting. Only a small shipment of candies > violated the health standard, Crespo said. His company's > products are certified by an international organization and > a California laboratory before they reach the store > shelves, Crespo insisted. > > " What's going on is that the lead levels established by > California and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have > been changing a lot lately due to pressures from > environmentalists, " Crespo contended. > > The California candy controversy coincided with the > voluntary recall of Castleberry's Food Company's Hot Dog > Chili Sauce and other products because of suspicions that > the company's cans contained a bacteria which causes > botulism, a potentially fatal illness. > > A San Diego woman spent 10 days in the hospital this moth > after consuming a batch of Castleberry's-manufactured > Kroger Chili with Beans. A complete list of recalled > Castleberry's products is available at the U.S. Food and > Drug Administration web site. > > The Castleberry's recall prompted Mexican authorities to > prohibit the importation of 80 company-made products. > Ortiz Marquez, chief of the State Commission for > Protection against Sanitary Risks in Ciudad Juarez, said > that Mexican customs, marketing and retail personnel were > being advised of the recall. In Ciudad Juarez, > Castleberry's products are used by popular hot dog vendors > who operate carts or stands in the streets. > > In addition to possible exposure to contaminated foods sold > at home, Mexican consumers in border cities like Ciudad > Juarez face risks from products purchased on cross-border > shopping sprees to US sister cities. In El Paso, branches > of the Albertson's and Big 8 supermarket chains reportedly > tossed out recalled Castleberry's products. > > Late last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary > Mike Leavitt and other high officials toured federal > facilities at the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso to hear > about procedures designed to uphold the safety of food > imports. President Bush has named Leavitt to head a > government panel charged with guaranteeing the safety of > food imports, an issue which has received wider public > attention since the scandal broke over contaminated pet > food imported from China earlier this year. > > FDA Commissioner Dr. Von Eschenbach said that a > greater investment of money and will is needed to keep the > food supply safe. " More resources and strict control > measures are needed to resolve the problem of contaminated > products, " Dr. Von Eschenbach affirmed. > > > Sources: El Diario de Juarez,. July 25 and 29, 2007. El > Paso Times, July 28, 2007. Article by Louie Gilot and the > Associated Press. La Opinion (Los Angeles), July 27, 2007. > Article by Araceli ez Ortega. San Francisco > Chronicle, July 23 and 28, 2007. Articles by > Wildermuth and Allday. El Universal, July 24, 2007. > Article by Cano. www.fda.gov > > > Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news > Center for Latin American and Border Studies > New Mexico State University > Las Cruces, New Mexico > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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