Third company recalls maradol papayas from Mexico

Freshtex Produce is the third company to recall maradol papayas grown and packed at a Mexico farm that has been linked to a 16-state salmonellosis outbreak.

New York City-based Agroson’s and San Juan, Texas-based Grande Produce also recalled papayas, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has advised consumers to ask retailers about the source of their papayas and to avoid the Caribeña, Cavi, and Valery brands of maradol papayas along with all papaya varieties from the Carica de Campeche farm in Campeche, Mexico.

Freshtex distributes the Valery brand, Agroson’s the Cavi brand and Grande Produce the Caribeña brand.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted 109 illnesses in the outbreak, and 35 people have been hospitalized. One death has been reported.

The FDA and CDC identified the Carica de Campeche farm as the likely source of the outbreak after papayas there tested positive for five strains of salmonella, including the two strains — Kiambu and Thompson — that have been associated with the reported illnesses.

No shipments from the farm are being accepted into the U.S. at this time, according to the FDA.

The FDA is increasing testing of papayas from Mexico to determine whether fruit from other farms could be contaminated.

Mexican food safety authorities are conducting inspections at firms of interest and are communicating with the FDA on the investigation.

The papayas that Alamo, Texas-based Freshtex recalled Aug. 7 were distributed July 10-13 in Illinois but may have been sold in other states as well.

Grande Produce recalled Caribeña-brand papayas July 26 that were shipped July 10-19. The company distributed product in Maryland.

Agroson’s recalled 2,483 boxes of Cavi-brand papayas Aug. 4 that were shipped July 16-19 to wholesalers in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.

Many of the illnesses have been reported on the East Coast, including 36 in New York, 26 in New Jersey and 11 in Virginia.

Freshtex, Grande Produce and Agroson’s have ceased importation of papayas from Carica de Campeche.

The companies report that they have been taking steps to ensure the safety of imported produce.

Grande Produce conducted environmental testing of its facilities, and in its recall notice July 26 it said salmonella had not been found. A company spokeswoman said Aug. 10 that nothing had changed in that regard. Grande was also coordinating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its investigation.

In its recall notice, Agroson’s reported that it is taking samples of each load of imported produce to a private lab to be tested for salmonella. It also stated it is cooperating with the USDA on its investigation.

Freshtex also planned to take precautionary measures with imported produce to ensure safety.

Since 2011, papayas from Mexico have been screened at the border for salmonella as part of an import alert, but companies can request to be added to a “green” list after five straight shipments test negative, according to the FDA.

Carica de Campeche has been placed on the “red” list as a result of the investigation into the current outbreak.

That import alert was put in place after FDA analysis of Mexican papayas between May 2011 and August 2011 found salmonella in 33 of 211 samples. The positive samples were from 28 firms and represented nearly all major papaya growing regions in the country.

Papaya was identified that year as the likely vehicle of a salmonella outbreak.

Retailers still wanting to offer Mexican maradol and Royal Star papaya varieties can get them from Pharr, Texas-based Super Starr International, according to the company, which issued a release affirming its product is safe. Super Starr grows in Colima, Mexico.