There might be some human feces in your cilantro, says new FDA report

By Fusion Staff  |  July 28, 2015 | 6:40pm
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Some cilantro will be banned from entering the United States after human feces and toilet paper appeared in Mexican farms. That means you could’ve literally been eating a shit sandwich!

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the shitty cilantro grown in Puebla, Mexico, is linked to an outbreak of stomach disease called “cyclosporiasis” stretching back to 2012. Cyclosporiasis, according to the report, is “a prolonged and severe diarrheal illness.” Bloomberg notes that there were 304 cases of cyclosporiasis in the United States in 2014.

Cilantro is an essential part of any guacamole recipe, and many Americans find themselves in love with Chipotle’s guac. Those Chipotle guac enthusiasts can relax, according to Bloomberg:

“We’re not getting any cilantro from Puebla (or anywhere else in Mexico) right now, so there is no impact on us,” Chris Arnold, a Chipotle spokesman, said in an e-mail.

These fields didn’t just have human feces and toilet paper—according to the report, there were all kinds of unsanitary conditions, including “inadequately maintained and supplied toilet and hand washing facilities (no soap, no toilet paper, no running water, no paper towels) or a complete lack of toilet and hand washing facilities,” and unwashed surfaces where the cilantro was either being cut or transported.

The outbreaks generally occur between April and August, the FDA reports, and so the ban will end August 31.

Michael Rosen is a reporter for Fusion based out of Oakland.

 
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