🖊️“Mexico’s Press Is Still Free Under Sheinbaum,” by Foreign Secretary @r_velascoa in @WSJ. 🔗 wsj.com/opinion/mexicos-pres…

📃 Mexico’s Ministry of Health (@SSalud_mx) Reports Negative Results for Cyclospora cayetanensis in Taylor Farms Mexico Lettuce The Government of Mexico, through the Ministry of Health, reports that the results of the analyses conducted on lettuce and water samples at the Taylor Farms de México, S. de R.L. de C.V. facility by the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris), through the National Reference Laboratory of the Commission for Analytical Control and Expanded Coverage (CCAyAC), and the Guanajuato State Public Health Laboratory (LESP), were negative for the detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis and for the presence of fecal coliforms, with physicochemical parameters falling within the limits established under national standards. From July 18 to 20, Cofepris conducted an inspection and sanitary verification visit to the facility, accompanied by epidemiologists and food safety experts from the Directorate General of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health and the National Service for Agrifood Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. During the visit, Cofepris collected ten iceberg lettuce samples: five whole heads present at the facility and five finished-product samples consisting of chopped, washed, and disinfected lettuce, as well as four water samples for microbiological and basic physicochemical testing. The lettuce samples were analyzed using standard molecular methods through real-time PCR, based on the method established in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM), at Cofepris’ CCAyAC National Reference Laboratory. The company presented evidence of process controls throughout the production chain and of the implementation of food safety management systems based on international recommendations, including HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), Codex Alimentarius, ISO, Primus GFS, and SQF. HACCP is the basic preventive control method; Codex Alimentarius establishes the international reference standards; ISO provides management systems; and Primus GFS and SQF are recognized private certification schemes used to audit the supply chain, which in this case applies to the lettuce suppliers. Irrigation is carried out through drip irrigation, and the facility’s water is supplied by its own certified wells. Taylor Farms maintains a product and raw material traceability system that enabled U.S. authorities to identify the origin of the product and trace a shipment that was held at the port of entry in Laredo, Texas, and which never entered U.S. territory. A sample obtained from that shipment subsequently yielded a false positive result, as referenced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the update published on its website on Sunday, July 19. For its part, SENASICA contacted lettuce producers that supply the company, who are certified under CODEX- and ISO-based schemes, to invite them to obtain certification under the Contamination Risk Reduction Systems (SRRC). During the visit, personnel from the Directorate General of Epidemiology investigated matters related to the health of the workers and did not identify any health conditions or outbreaks of diarrheal disease that would warrant intervention by health services. The Ministry of Health reiterates that, through Cofepris, Mexico has a verification system that safeguards both domestically consumed and exported food products, and will continue working to protect public health through interdisciplinary and interinstitutional actions grounded in scientific evidence and carried out in strict accordance with national and international food safety standards.