Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05TEGUCIGALPA2041
2005-10-04 13:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Cable title:  

CHEESED OFF: FDA CITES POOR FOOD SAFETY IN HONDURAN

Tags:  EAGR EAID ECON EIND ETRD AMED HO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 002041 

SIPDIS

GUATEMALA FOR SHUETE
STATE PASS TO FDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON EIND ETRD AMED HO
SUBJECT: CHEESED OFF: FDA CITES POOR FOOD SAFETY IN HONDURAN
DAIRY PLANTS


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 002041

SIPDIS

GUATEMALA FOR SHUETE
STATE PASS TO FDA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON EIND ETRD AMED HO
SUBJECT: CHEESED OFF: FDA CITES POOR FOOD SAFETY IN HONDURAN
DAIRY PLANTS



1. Summary: FDA dairy inspectors finishing a three-week
inspection visit to seven Honduran dairy plants expressed
concern over a lack of standardized safety procedures in the
production of quesillo, a locally popular soft white cheese.
Although the seven plants had been specially selected by GOH
plant and animal health authority SENASA for their
willingness and presumed readiness to export the cheese to
the U.S., the FDA inspectors found an alarming lack of
standards in measurements, monitoring, and record-keeping
that would assure pasteurization in the production line.
The FDA inspectors pointed to poor or nonexistent training
of producers and SENASA inspectors, inadequate construction
and maintenance of processing equipment, and lack of
knowledge of FDA regulations as critical flaws that must be
overcome before any of the plants can export to the U.S.
cheese that meets FDA standards. End summary.


2. From September 5-23, FDA inspectors Darrell Luedtke and
Monica Metz traveled throughout Honduras and inspected seven
dairy plants that produce the soft white cheese quesillo.
All seven plants had undergone inspection by SENASA and been
categorized as "approvable" before the FDA inspectors'
arrival; however, the FDA inspection uncovered significant
food safety problems at each plant and determined that at
present, none of the plants was capable of exporting a safe
product to the U.S. The inspectors' most alarming discovery
was the lack of assurance of pasteurization in the cheese-
making process. The inspectors found that the producers
were gauging the cheese's readiness by its consistency,
rather than by measuring temperature and length of heating
time to meet an established standard of pasteurization.
"They are making cheese as an art," Luedtke said, "but for
food safety it has to be made as a science." A fundamental
problem is that there is no established standard for the
pasteurization of Honduran soft white cheese. Luedtke
stressed the need for a food engineering study to determine
proper heating time and temperature to assure the cheese's

pasteurization.


3. Although establishing a pasteurization standard is a
vital first step, the plants have other critical food safety
problems to resolve as well. The inspection found rough
welds on equipment, improper seals between tanks separating
raw and treated products, and lack of attention to potential
sources of contamination in the plants' water supply. In
addition, the plants have no calibration systems to assure
the accuracy of temperature recordings or to evaluate proper
functioning of equipment. The FDA inspectors said that many
of the plants' problems were due to inadequate awareness of
food safety standards and FDA regulations. According to
Luedtke, SENASA's own dairy inspectors have an "outstanding"
level of expertise, but are hampered by their small numbers
(there are fewer than five to cover all of Honduras) and
unfamiliarity with FDA regulations. Although this
inspection focused only on the quesillo production process,
the inspectors agreed that it is extremely probable that the
same problems regarding contamination and pasteurization
apply to all dairy products made in the plants.


4. Food safety problems with Honduran dairy products have
become increasingly prevalent. Honduran dairy plants were
last inspected by the FDA in 2001, and at that time, as in
this inspection, none of the plants met U.S. safety
standards for the export of soft cheese. However, during
the more recent inspections, the plant managers claimed they
had never received copies of the 2001 inspection reports.
(Note: The FDA inspectors as well as the USDA representative
at Post find it likely that the 2001 reports have been
ignored, misplaced in the plants as a result of poor record
keeping, or removed by SENASA dairy inspectors fired from
their jobs. End note.) Earlier this year, FDA tests on
eleven samples of Honduran cheese in the U.S. revealed
contaminants -- including E. coli, staphylococcus bacteria,
and phosphates indicating inadequate pasteurization -- in
nearly every sample. These findings led to a health
advisory issued last March in which the FDA recommended
against eating any unripened raw milk soft cheeses from
Mexico, Nicaragua, or Honduras. This FDA health advisory
caused a significant stir in the Honduran press, with
inaccurate accusations that the U.S. had closed its borders
to Honduran food products. (Note: Quesillo, as an artisanal
cheese and a staple of the typical Honduran diet, is a
subject of great cultural sensitivity in Honduras.
Perceived insults to the cheese are not taken lightly. End
note.) U.S. authorities are currently holding in detention
a variety of Honduran dairy products that entered the U.S.
either commercially or in personal luggage, pending
determination of their adherence to FDA regulations.


5. In concluding their inspections last week, the FDA
inspectors emphasized that the crux of the food safety
problem in Honduran dairy plants is the absence of education
and training on food safety procedures and FDA regulations.
SENASA clearly lacks sufficient knowledge and understanding
of FDA regulations, and is unqualified to determine the
plants' ability to comply with food safety standards. The
inspectors will release their reports to the individual
plants at the end of October; in the meantime, USDA
representatives at Post will investigate possible means of
providing food safety training to SENASA and the dairy
producers.

Williard