El Salvador has 204 companies registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Texas Tech University assistant professor of microbiology Alexandra Calle said.
The FDA is the highest authority in the United States in the health regulation of food, medicines, medical equipment, cosmetics or any product for human and veterinary use.
From the size of economies, countries thus have more companies registered with the agency to export to the U.S. market, such as China reporting 15,000, Mexico 8,104 and the Dominican Republic 477.
During a congress organized by the Corporación de Exportadores de El Salvador (Coexport), Calle said Salvadoran companies have 813 food rejections before the FDA in the last 20 years. The academic said that in the food industry it is “impossible” to work in a totally barren environment.
According to the academic, among the causes of rejection of Salvadoran products is physical contamination, as well as detection of pesticides in fresh vegetables and problems with fishery or dairy products.
“In El Salvador, in a period of approximately 20 years, there have been 813 food rejections,” said Calle.
Alerts
The FDA portal indicates that among the import alerts issued this year are some related to microbiological cheese contamination, and the presence of salmonella in marine products.
The US office says the cheese alert does not include France’s soft and mature. In 2024, products shipped from El Salvador to the United States presented problems related to salmonella and staphylococcuses.
This month, the FDA warned about foods containing illegal or undecorated dyes, as well as the attempt to enter unapproved drugs promoted in the United States.
Calle emphasized the need to maintain microbiological monitoring and plant cleaning around the world. The involvement of products that do not comply with marketing standards can lead to the elimination of goods, as well as the death of consumers, something that is “catastrophic.”
A universal problem
The researcher recalled that this year she started an outbreak of listeria at a factory of Boar’s Head located in Virginia, the plant has not re-operated and withdrew about seven million pounds of sausages from the market.
Data shared by Calle indicate that the outbreak is reported in 18 states, and leaves at least 57 people hospitalized.
Until the end of August, at least nine people died due to this outbreak.
The professor said microbial contamination is responsible for 90 per cent of the health problems associated with food. In addition, 91.9 per cent of plants removed from the US market are caused by microbiological contamination.
Calle pointed out the need to implement microbiological control, because this will reduce FDA import alerts and improve quality.
The controls will also help ensure that products do not produce diseases among consumers.