Government officials in Mexico have denied that the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup has been found anywhere in the packing house for Daniella mangoes. The nationwide outbreak of that bacteria that has sickened at least 121 people in 15 states has been linked to the mangoes, and the FDA just placed Danielle mangoes on the Import Alert list.
This is the Google translation of that statement: “The Federal Government concluded research to help clarify the import alerts issued by Canada and the United States of America (USA) to the packinghouse Daniella Mangos, for the possible presence of Salmonella Braenderup, and after exhaustive work of agencies health and epidemiology, no contamination was found at the premises of the Mexican company by the strain causing the outbreak in neighboring northern countries.
Through the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), the General Directorate of Epidemiology (DGE), the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) and the National Health Service, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA) the Federal Government established the strategy to assist in the diagnostic investigation initiated by Canada and the U.S. about a Salmonella Braenderup outbreak detected in those countries.
With the full cooperation of the baler Daniella research developed in their production and packaging areas, to identify the presence of Salmonella strain Braenderup reported by authorities in the U.S. and Canada. It took 14 samples analyzed in duplicate to SENASICA and COFEPRIS and found no evidence of the bacteria.
From routine monitoring carried out by the health sector, the InDRE studied by pulsed field electrophoresis (PFEG, for its acronym in English), to identify the genetic fingerprint of the bacteria Salmonella strains circulating in around the country this year. This study concluded that the Salmonella strain causing outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada is different from any strain circulating in Mexico.
In conclusion, the studies conducted by Mexican authorities show that there is no information to link the outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada with any Mexican product.”
On September 13, 2012, the FDA released a statement that it had found Salmonella on mangoes from Agricola Daniella. But they did not state the strain of Salmonella found on the fruit. Government officials may be waiting for results of genetic profiling on the bacteria before specifying if it is the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup. That brand of mangoes has been linked to the outbreak by tracing the illnesses through the supply chain to Agricola Daniella.
So why the discrepancy? Experts say that testing 14 samples is not nearly enough to definitively state that the processing plant was not the source of the Salmonella outbreak. Furthermore, the Mexican government also denied that last year’s Salmonella Agona outbreak was linked to papayas imported from Mexico.
