I. IdentificationThe recent outbreak of Hepatitis A in Michigan has sparked a wave of controversy surrounding the importation of fresh fruit and vegetables. Strawberries found in the lunches of a Michigan school were laced with Hepatitis A and caused approximately 260 students and faculty to fall ill with the disease. While the exact source of the Hepatitis outbreak is presently undeterminable, questions have arisen about the quality of imported produce. This has lead Congress and President Clinton to introduce guidelines that would ensure only quality produce be available to the public. The Hepatitis outbreak has caused farmers in both Mexico and the United States to examine their farming practices as well as the outcomes such disasters may have on the trade and health environment between the two countries.
The beginning of March 1997 saw the outbreak of approximately 260 cases of Hepatitis A in Calhoun County, Michigan. This epidemic has startled national health officials, since an outbreak of this magnitutde has not occured in the United States in over ten years. In an effort to determine the origins of the Hepatitis A epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and the United States Department of Agriculture quickly dispatched investigators to Michigan. Investigators found a positive link between strawberries served in a local cafeteria and the Hepatitis A outbreak. the majority of those infected with the disease were understandably children.
The strawberries served in the school lunches were traced to a processing plant in San Diego, known as Andrew and Williamson. It was discovered that this processing company shipped strawberries from the same lot as the ones sent to Michigan to schools in five other states, including Arizona, southern California, Georgia, Iowa, and Tennessee. As a precautionary measure, the CDC and school officials in these states set up immunization programs for students with shots of immune globulin to protect students that may have been infected.
Investigators set out to discover how the strawberries became infected with Hepatitis A and more importantly, how these strawberries made their way to the tables of a school cafeteria in Michigan. The USDA has developed a stringent set of guidelines to protect domestically grown produce. Food processors that distribute foods to schools in the USDA sponsored school lunch program must adhere to even stricter guidelines of food safety. Upon further investigation of the strawberry processot, it was soon learned that the strawberries had been obtained from Baja California, Mexico. This has caused an uproar within the USDA, since all foods distributed under the school lunch program must be of domestic origin. As a result, Fred A. Williamson, Chief Executive Director of Andrew and Williamson, has resigned amidst controversy concerning his company's role in lying to the USDA and illegally selling and distributing foreign grown produce to school lunch programs across the country.
Since the outbreak, it has still not been determined exactly how the strawberries were infected. Many invesitigators in the case presume the point of contamination occurred on the strawberry farms in Mexico. Unsanitary working conditions, such as inadequate facilities for workers to wash their hands after using the bathroom, could have easily lead to the contamination of the berries. While the CDC attempts to match blood samples from the victims in Michigan with those indigeneous to the Baja California region, Mexican agriculturists point their fingers at the processing plant in San Diego as the source of contamination. They claim that had their berries been contaminated, they would have been rejected by boarder officials upon entry to the U.S. Also, no Hepatitis outbreaks in Mexico can be linked to the berries. Many officials in Mexico, including President Ernesto Zedillo, do not discount the theory that the contamination could be an act of sabatoge - an attempt to damage sales of Mexican grown produce in the U.S. The true cause of the contamination may never be known; The strawberries could have been contaminated by Mexican farmers, in transit, at the processing plant in San Diego, or even at the school cafeteria where the outbreak occurred.
To understand the health crisis present in this case, a simple understanding of the Hepatitis A virus is necessary. Hepatitis A is a mild liver infection that is transmitted primarily through feces. Officials at the CDC find it probable that a farm worker with unclean hands transmitted the disease to the strawberries during harvest. While no one died from this recent epidemic, the severity of Hepatitis A varied among its victims. Some studnets quickly recovered, while another, in an extreme case, needed a liver transplant. Hepatitis is common in places where poor sanitary conditions are abundant. Symptoms include "fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain in the liver area, dark urine or light colored stools and fever" (1). Washing fruits and vegetables, and even freezing them, will not rid the produce of the disease. Fresh produce must be washed in chlorine solution to rid them of contamination. Nevertheless, most experts agree that no fresh fruit can be deemed 100 percent bacteria/disease free. Epidemics such as this one "will grow inevitable as mass production and mass marketing of food grows more common" (2).
This recent outbreak of Hepatitis A has had far reaching effects, especially for San Carlos, Baja California, Mexico, where the strawberries were grown. Strawberry farmers in both California and Mexico have suffered the consequences. The remaining strawberry crop in Mexico went to waste, as both domestic and international produce distributors and salers did not want to take the risk of purchasing tainted produce. This has resulted in thousands of workers being left unemployed. In the meantime, the USDA has stepped up its effort to protect consumers. The government ageny now requires the packing date, lot number, and country of origin on all frozen foods, no longer relying on signitures and the promises of distributors.
Applying these standards to fresh produce is a controversial issue. Many nations would inevitably view this mandatory labeling as a non-tariff trade barrier and respond with retalitory action. Foriegn produce farmers are vehemently opposed to meeting any standards set forth by the USDA. They view this as a violation of their rights as foreign produce producers. Many feel that such action by the United States would be an infringment on their national soveignty. Indeed, ecolabeling is a major issue in the World Trade Organization. If the U.S. enacts such stringent guidelines for international produce, countries that will be affected thew most, like Mexico, are bound to bring such an issue before the WTO.
Nonetheless, due to fiscal constraints, the USDA still only has the manpower to visually inspect 1 or 2 percent of imported foods. This has sparked controversy among government officials, leading President Clinton to develop voluntary guidelines for growing, processing, shipping, and selling fruits and vegetables. President Clinton is urging the passage of legislation that will require imported produce to be held ot the same standards as domestically grown fruits and vegetables. The President's plan will not go to Congress until next year. This case is by no means complted, as the results from the Hepatitis outbreak of 1997 could have far reaching effects on both trade and environmental legislation for years to come.
Key Words
II. Legal ClustersThe United States and Mexico still disagree as to the exact source of contamination. The Centers for Disease Control is currently invesitgating the processing plant in San Diego, as well as the strawberry farm in Baja California where the strawberries originated. Most likely, any findings by the CDC will be disputed by parties on one side of the issue. Mexican farmers and the government are unlikely to accept blame by a U.S. investigation team. Andrew and Williamson claims to have done nothing wrong: the plant in San Diego was inspected and deemed safe by the USDA long before the outbreak occurred. Disagreement has characterized discourse between both parties in this case.
This case is currently in progress. Resolution will not come until the CDC finishes its investigation and publishes its findings. Resolution also awaits President Clinton's guidelines on fresh fruit safety, which are not expected to reach Congress for a vote until next year.
Although no formal law has been invoked, President Clinton's proposed guidelines for produce safety will be voted on by the Congress next year. Critics of the current guidelines allowing produce to enter the U.S. claim that NAFTA is partially responsible for the Hepatitis A outbreak. NAFTA has facilitated the process for Mexican farmers to gain entry for their goods. Proposed legislation would allow U.S. inspectors to investigate harvesting sites of internationally grown produce.
If Congress enacts the proposed guidelines, it will come under the form of U.S. law. This proposed U.S. law would inadvertantly effect those countries that export produce to the U.S. In the case of strawberries, Mexico will be effected more than any other country since they are the leading international supplier of strawberries to the U.S.
III. Geographic ClustersThe species being effected by proposed legislation is international produce exported to the United States. Strawberries laced with Hepatitis A sparked this debate. Trade and Environment concerns will come into conflict when produce, such as strawberries, reach U.S. boarders for inspection and in the fields where it is harvested.
The geographic impact of the conflict will affect both Mexico, or any other country growing produce for international export, and the United States, where strawberries and other produce must meet U.S. demands. In the strawberry case, $44 million dollars worth of strawberries are imported into the U.S. from Mexico - this is 10% of the total U.S. market. California and Florida produce the vast supply of strawberries for domestic consumption in the U.S. - approximately 80%. Other countries, such as Guatemala and Chile, produce a minute quantity of strawberries that are exported to the U.S. - under 5%. If any portion of the imported strawberries are rejected at the U.S. borders, strawberries in the U.S. could be in short supply. This would inevitably lead to an increase in strawberry cost, which would be passed along to the consumer.
IV. Trade ClustersThe type of trade measure in this case is a regulatory standard, where the United States will set forth a set of guidelines to insure the quality of imported produce.
The impact new U.S. guidelines could have for Mexican strawberry farmers in Baja California is significant. Mexico exports $44 million worth of strawberreis to the U.S., more than any other country. In a year, more than 4 billion pounds of Mexican produce will be exported to the U.S.
In 1996, the U.S. imported $1.2 billion dollars worth of fresh fruit. Last year, Mexico supplied $421 million dollars in fruit. Mexico supplies the U.S. with 3 million pounds of strawberries each year, valued at $4.8 million dollars. For the most part, Mexican strawberries are supplied to the U.S. during the winter months when U.S. strawberries are in short supply. This total is included in the 4 billion pounds of Mexican produce that is exported to the U.S. each year. Mexico clearly has a large stake in the guidelines being proposed to Congress.
V. Environment ClustersThe environmental problem in this case has to do with imported strawberries, as well as other produce that may be contaminated and pose a potential health hazard to consumers.
Officials at the CDC claim that the possibility of falling ill from fruit, imported or domsetic, is extremely rare. Publicity generated through the media appears to present the problem as worse than it really is. A few years ago, imported raspberries from Guatemala caused several people to get sick. Officials claim that as long as the public demands fresh fruit, a small risk will inevitably be involved. Fresh fruit can never be bacteria or disease free, even domestically grown produce can not make such claims.
VI. Other FactorsBarrett, Joyce. "Country of Origin Labeling Linked to Trade, Safety Issues; Product Labeling." Supermarket News 37(47): September 15, 1997.
"Business Linked to Berries is Not New to Controversy." 4/03/97 Top Story
Claiborne, William. "California Processor Charged in Labeling of Bad Fruit." The Washington Post 11 June 1997: 3A.
Dalton, Rex. "Congress May Look at Tainted Berry Sale." The San Diego Union Tribune 1 October 1997: 9A.
Dalton, Rex. "How Disease Detectives Hunted From Michigan to Mexico to Trace a Virus that Attacked U.S. Schoolchildren." The San Diego Union Tribune 28 September 1997: 1A.
"Food Safety: Hepatitis Outbreak Blamed on Strawberries." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 3 April 1997: 1A.
Garcia, Guillermo X. "Finger Pointing Follows Fruit Scare." The Orange County Register 6 April 1997: 25A.
"Hepatitis A" Hepatitis A
"Hepatatis A Outbreak in Michigan Schools." U.S. Department of Agriculture. 10/07/97 USDA
Knight, Heather. "USDA Heard About Illegal Berries Before Breakout." The Washington Post 18 April 1997: 10A.
Marquis, Julie and Sonia Nazario. "Outbreak Called Rare but Inevitable." Los Angeles Times 3 April 1997:1A.
McKenna, M.A.J. "Can We be Sure Our Food is Clean?" The Atlanta Journal and Constitution 6 April 1997: 12A.
Robinson, Alan. "Alliance Going Toe to Toe Over Country of Origin Labeling." Frozen Food Age 10 (1997): 8.
Sheridan, Mary Beth and Martha Groves. "Strawberry Scare Hits Mexico Hard." Sacramento Bee 9 April 1997: 1A.
Shogren, Elizabeth. "Clinton Urges Laws on Safety of Food Imports." Los Angeles Times 3 October 1997: 1A.
"Tainted Berries Cause Hepatitis." Tufts Univeristy Health and Nutrition Letter 15(1997): 1.
"The Strawberry Scandal." The San Fransisco Examiner 6 April 1997: 16C.
"Hepatitis A" Hepatitis A
Marquis, Julie and Sonia Nazario. "Outbreaks Called Rare but Inevitable." The Los Angeles Times 3 April 1997: 1A.