NAREI temporarily bans importation of ‘romaine’ lettuce
The ‘romaine’ variety of lettuce which has been temporarily banned here
The ‘romaine’ variety of lettuce which has been temporarily banned here

– due to E.coli outbreak in the US

THE National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has temporarily restricted the importation of “romaine lettuce” amidst an outbreak of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in the United States of America (US).

NAREI will not be issuing import permits, and will be recalling all permits which were issued within the past three months for ‘romaine’ lettuce.

Romaine, or cos, lettuce is a variety of lettuce that grows in a tall head of sturdy dark green leaves with firm ribs down their centres.

The Institute, in a press statement, said on Monday that the restriction will be removed when Guyana is notified by the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that there is no threat to the ‘romaine’ lettuce.

E. coli is a bacterium commonly found in the gut of warm-blooded organisms. Most strains of E. coli are not harmful, but are part of the healthful bacterial flora in the human gut. However, some types can cause illness in humans, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and sometimes vomiting.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some strains of the bacteria, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can cause severe foodborne disease. It is transmitted to humans primarily through consumption of contaminated foods, such as raw or undercooked ground meat products, raw milk, and contaminated raw vegetables and sprouts.

According to a recent report in the Washington Post, a previously undisclosed E. coli outbreak linked to ‘romaine’ lettuce, sickened nearly two dozen people between July and early September.

The report stated that illnesses associated with the outbreak infected 23 people across 12 states from July 12 to September 8, according to the FDA. No patients died of their illnesses.

Over the past few months, there have been efforts geared at protecting the local market by regulating the importation of agricultural commodities and regulated articles.
NAREI had said that it will clamp down on persons who are importing agricultural commodities and regulated articles without a permit.

“In the past, persons were importing without permits, and we have thought about it…We would have given persons time to comply with the law, but we have decided that it is time to clamp down,” said NAREI Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) Brian Sears in a past report.

NAREI had issued a notice which advised the public that the importation of agricultural commodities and regulated articles, including fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, plants and plant parts, timber and timber products and so forth require an import permit as stipulated by the Plant Protection Act #9 Part III: Imports.

“Failure to have the requisite permit prior to importation will result in legal actions being taken against defaulters, including the confiscation of imported commodities, as well as the imposition of penalties, fines and imprisonment for the offence as per the legislation,” said the Institute.

Sears said the Institute had found that the importation of agricultural commodities was prevalent in border communities such as Lethem and Berbice, where the smuggling of goods is pervasive.

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