FDA Import Alert: Honduran Cantaloupe
FDA Fumbles Again On Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ reviewed FDA’s “import alert” on cantaloupes from Honduras and
showed that the proper announcement would be to urge people not to consume melons imported in January and
February, in case a few people have some in the freezer or have preserved the cantaloupe in some way — not to
crush a company and a country and disrupt an industry for no purpose. 3/25/2008
We Are All Affected By Cantaloupe Issue determined that the one thing we are certain of is that this saga
is not much about cantaloupes or salmonella; it is about business, politics, loyalty and struggle. 3/28/2008
An Abuse Of Power: A Portrait Of The FDA As Bully …it is increasingly evident that the saga of Honduran
cantaloupes has little to do with food safety and a lot to do with an FDA anxious to be seen as “doing
something” in regard to food safety and “being tough” on imported food. We hope that when this is over, an
investigation will be launched into how the FDA could behave in a manner so offensive to American ideals of
fairness, justice and due process of law. 3/28/2008
Emergency Task Force Requested reported the Honduran Embassy in Washington recently hand-delivered a
letter from the Honduran Secretary of Agriculture & Livestock to the US Secretary of Health & Human Services,
the State Department and the National Security Council calling for an emergency task force composed jointly of
officials from both countries. Honduras is hoping it can elevate the importance of lifting the import alert,
but they must tread lightly. 3/28/2008
Letters From Warren And Molina Ask For Support And Patience… we’ve included public statements from various
parties in our coverage of the import alert, but there are private letters as well, sometimes heartbreaking
letters as proud men make a plea. The relationships touched by this particular situation are particularly
longstanding and deep. We are fortunate to be able to share several with our readers. 3/28/2008
FDA Responds To Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ Questions sought a better understanding of what the FDA was doing with
this “import alert” that implicated cantaloupe produced by Agropecuaria Montelibano. We asked Pundit
Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to show FDA spokesperson Sebastian Cianci the statement
issued by the grower and elicit a reaction. 3/28/2008
Honduras Cantaloupe Grower: Model Of Transparency made available a list of 38 documents provided by
Agropecuaria Montelibano related to the FDA import alert in order to both assist those interested in further
research in the area and to serve as an example for other companies to emulate. 3/28/2008
Central American’s Warren Speaks Out About Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ inquired as to how Michael Warren, President
of Central American Produce, one of the long established and largest importing families that has a
relationship with Agropecuaria Montelibano, was holding up under this difficult situation. We asked Pundit
Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to speak with him, and she discovered that there is a
certain arrogance in the way FDA operates that has to be dealt with. 3/28/2008
FDA’s Strong Arm Tactics addressed how the FDA is functioning as if it has the authority to order recalls.
That is a power Congress has not elected to give them. But in company after company, we hear the situation
being presented as “an offer you can’t refuse.” There is something quite wrong with this. 3/28/2008
Why The Delay? … delved into the questions the FDA never answers is why it is so slow at getting
information out. These delays might endanger people’s lives. We asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects
Editor Mira Slott to find out more from George Manos, President of T.M. Kovacevich International, which
released its own voluntary recall on March 25, and submitted its press release to the FDA, who didn’t
distribute it until March 27. 3/28/2008
Media Misinformation And Confusion Over Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ recounts Pundit Investigator and Special
Projects Editor Mira Slott’s conversation with William (Bil) Goldfield, Communications Manager for Dole Food
Company Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, as to why plenty of consumer media outlets wound up reporting a Dole
recall that was actually done in 2007! 3/28/2008
How Save Mart Was Affected By Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ shared Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor
Mira Slott’s conversation with Alicia Rockwell, Director of Communications at Save Mart in Modesto,
California, to get a sense of how retailers reacted to the events surrounding the FDA “import alert”.
3/28/2008
Consumer Guide To Cantaloupe Food Safety provides a comprehensive set of instructions for the safe
preparation of cantaloupe from Trevor Suslow, Extension Postharvest Specialist for the Department of Plant
Sciences, UC Davis. We were prompted by some of our retail readers who were looking to provide information
they can pass on to their customers regarding how to reduce the risk of contamination on cantaloupes from any
source. 3/28/2008
Science Behind Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ examined the science that surrounds this “import alert” from a
conversation between Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott and Dr. Michael Doyle, Regents
Professor of Food Microbiology at the Director Center for Food Safety, at the University of Georgia. The
Professor’s explanation of the science is intriguing, but on the points specific to this alert, they still
leave many questions unanswered. 3/28/2008
President Of Honduras Stands Up For Grower applauded President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya, one of the true
heroes of the cantaloupe import alert situation, who is the only politician willing to state the obvious:
Whatever was once true, the fruit today is as safe as any other fruit. 3/28/2008
Positive Test On Cantaloupes Causes More Confusion reports that the FDA has a positive test result for
salmonella on some cantaloupes produced by Agropecuaria Montelibano. The results are from samples the FDA had
taken for testing at a border crossing on March 12. The finding of salmonella is interesting because the
serotype found was Salmonella Freetown, which is different from the Salmonella Litchfield strain that
supposedly sickened 50 people. Includes excerpts from our interview with FDA spokesperson Sebastian Cianci.
4/1/2008
FDA Status Quo Cannot Stand reprints a letter by a man with empathy, gained through first-person
experience, for those caught up in a food safety issue. There has to be more of a standard than that the FDA
can destroy a company, unemploy thousands of people, crush a country and an industry. Also discusses parallels
to the 1989 Chilean grape cyanide scare. 4/4/2008
Despite Flawed FDA, Cantaloupes Are Challenged acknowledged that much of our analysis has been focused on
the FDA. Its procedures are disorganized. Its field staff often not knowledgeable, and its agents have been
acting as bullies, intimidating people to announce recalls. It would be a horrible mistake for the industry to
think this matter was just about FDA abuse. It is also about cantaloupes, which are particularly vulnerable in
a way smooth-skinned melons are not. 4/11/2008
Fix Suggested For FDA’s Vigilante System Of Banning Product Through Import Alerts reviewed a Law Review
article entitled,
The Food and Drug Administration’s Import Alerts Appear to Be “Misbranded”, which was published in 2003 in
the Food and Drug Law Journal, and written by Christine M. Humphrey. We asked Pundit Investigator and Special
Projects Editor Mira Slott to get an update from Christine and discuss the applicability of the thesis to the
“import alert” associated with the cantaloupes from Honduras. 4/16/2008
Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ Reaches Guam; What’s An Island To Do? received a note that in distant Guam, the
Department of Public Health learned cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano had found their way there and
issued a public health warning. We asked Mira Slott, Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor, to learn
more about the impact of the alert from health officials and retailers. 4/30/2008
Pundit’s Mailbag – Cantaloupe Leaders Provide Roadmap To Safer Future reprinted letters from Stephen
Patricio, Chairman, California Cantaloupe Advisory Board, Stephen Smith Chairman, California Melon Research
Board and Trevor V. Suslow, Extension Research Specialist in Postharvest Quality and Safety at the University
of California, Davis. The letters point out that it is simply imperative we get to the bottom of the cause of
these food safety issues or a whole commodity will be at risk. 5/2/2008
Honduran Cantaloupe ‘Alert’ Still In Effect Long After Season Is Over…
FDA Must Act NOW To Save Next Season argues that more than two
months have past but the Import Alert is still in effect. Orders have
to be placed now, yet how can they buy seed with no assurance their
cantaloupes are even allowed in the US? A silent FDA, refusing to lift
an irrelevant Import Alert or give reason why it must be sustained, is
abusive of its powers. 5/23/2008
With FDA/CDC Protected By Sovereign Immunity, Compensation For Losses Looks Bleak Says Professor Richard
Epstein asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to speak with University of
Chicago Professor of Law Richard A. Epstein who describes Import Alerts as tantamount to defamation. Although
he is not particularly optimistic about the chances for the produce industry to win compensation judicially,
he opens the door a bit to individual companies that have been defamed by a false Import Alert. 7/25/2008
Christmas In Honduras… A Bright New Year Ahead shares news of a
really great Christmas present. It is a horribly sad and unfair story
in which Agropecuaria Montelibano was unfairly penalized and held
mercy to the whims of the FDA. After nine months of struggle, the loss
of millions of dollars, penniless workers being deprived of a
livelihood and perfectly good food needlessly wasted, we are, at last,
thrilled to be able to report that the FDA has lifted its Import
Alert. Included are slides of a PowerPoint presentation of the steps
that this family company took to win FDA approval. We are running the
whole presentation not because there is anything so shocking but
because the nature of the changes made point to the fundamentally
arbitrary nature of FDA decision-making. 12/25/2008
The Failure Of The FDA And The Nature Of Information recognizes
that at the core of the behavior of the FDA on food safety is a
misunderstanding of the kind of information that has value. Some
action is certainly prudent. For example, if a test comes back
positive, FDA should certainly want to see other tests around that
product. But the banning of production by a company as we saw with the
Honduran
cantaloupes, or issuing recommendations not to consume products
requires a different standard of proof. We pointed out during the
import alert against Agropecuaria Montelibano that the FDA’s position
made no sense. It is also not clear at all that the FDA is helping
public health by destroying the pistachio industry. 4/7/2009
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