US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA2041

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