Cyclospora lawyer Ron Simon has noted a stark decline in the number of Cyclospora cases in 2016, a likely result of careful action by the FDA to reduce the amount ,and improve the quality, of cilantro being imported from Puebla Mexico.
According to Cyclospora lawyer Ron Simon, there has been a decline in Cyclospora cases in 2016 by comparison to previous years. According to Simon, this is in large part due to the affirmative action of the FDA and other authorities in response to the high number of Cyclospora illnesses traced back to Cilantro from Puebla, in recent years.
As the result of corrective actions, the number of Cyclospora illnesses reported in 2016 has gone down. And while this may be in part because importers and the public have become aware that consumption of cilantro from Puebla, Mexico growing region has been linked in previous years to Cyclospora illnesses, that is likely only a small part of the reason. Just a few years ago, the number of victims was reaching all-time highs in terms of reported cases, and lawsuits were being filed against Olive Garden, nationally, and against individual restaurants, such as Bob’s Taco Station near Houston, Texas. Ron Simon actively litigated both. But even while that litigation was moving forward, between 2013 and 2015, the FDA was getting involved.
In conjunction with its Mexican counterpart, Mexico’s National Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality Service (SENASICA), the FDA bgan investigating the outbreaks and the Puebla region where the cilantro was grown. During those inspections, it became clear that human fees were able to infect the cilantro because of poor food safety practices. Following those investigations, the FDA issued an “Import Alert” for all cilantro originating in Puebla, Mexico.
The “Import Alert,” issued April 1, 2015, operated as a ban on importing this cilantro, and continued through the summer months until August 31 – the ban was again implemented in 2016. The Alert prevented cilantro from entering the U.S. unless the producer of the cilantro was on the “Green List” of companies that were certified to have met 11 minimum requirements of “good agricultural and food safety practices” under the authority of Mexico’s Systems of Risk Reduction of Contamination. These select producers continued to deliver cilantro the U.S.
Between May and September of 2016, only 134 laboratory-confirmed cases of Cyclospora in the U.S. have been reported – down from the 2015 count of 319 confirmed cases in the same time-period.
To discuss the positive actions of the FDA with a Cyclospora lawyer, rr to investigate the possibility of pursuing a Cyclospora lawsuit, call 1-888-335-4901.
