Mexico: US potato only for human consumption

“The import of potatoes from the United States was only authorized for human consumption and not for the production of the tuber, thus mitigating phytosanitary risks in our country,” said the chief director of the National Service of Health, Food Safety and quality (SENASICA), Enrique Sanchez Cruz. The federal official said imports of potatoes were authorized so long as their packaging stated that they were for human consumption, they were washed, rootless, had no soil, and had growth inhibitors, so that they were not suitable for cultivation. He said scientists from Mexico, the US, and the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) had conducted a risk analysis assessment and that, based on it, the authorities had established mitigation measures. These regulations were implemented, and the scientific issue was settled by the risk analysis, he said. More