Become a food-safety expert: Cilantro this time

On my 12th-floor Manhattan terrace, I grow cilantro every summer.  I like to have it handy.  And I know it’s local, organic, seasonal, and deer-free—and unlikely to be contaminated with Cyclospora.

The CDC reports 358 people to be ill with Cyclospora, most likely because they ate cilantro imported from Mexico.

It doesn’t take much web surfing to find out anything you want to know about such problems.  I like to use three sources:

The CDC

• Information about Cyclospora
• A paper on Outbreaks of Cyclosporiasis — United States, June–August 2013
• A fact sheet
• An explanation of investigations of foodborne outbreaks
• 2014 Outbreak Investigations
• 2013 Outbreak Investigations
• Advanced Molecular Detection for Cyclospora
• Time to Think About Cyclosporiasis
• A Webinar for health-care providers

The FDA

• A statement
• Advice for consumers.
• An import Alert
• An explanation of how the US is working with Mexico to make cilantro safer
  

Bill Marler

• His blog