Dominica has issued a temporary ban on the importation of romaine lettuce coming from the United States and Canada.
This was announced by Head of the Plant Quarantine Unit, Nelson Laville.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a stark warning against romaine lettuce. The agency warned that no one in the United States should eat it, due to a recent outbreak of the bacteria E. coli believed to be linked to its consumption.
The CDC advised that people and restaurants should throw away all romaine lettuce, regardless of whether anyone has been sickened, and sanitize the areas in which it was stored.
A number of Caribbean countries have also taken the decision to place a temporary ban on importation of romaine lettuce.
“We issued a temporary ban on the importation of romaine lettuce. That is, we are not issuing any import permits for romaine lettuce coming from Canada and the US,” Laville said.
He explained that any importation of fresh produce to Dominica requires an import permit which is issued by the Plant Protection and Quarantine Unit.
“Prior to the importation, an application must be submitted to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Services and we do what we call a risk analysis,” Laville explained.
He said the risk analysis shows the probability of the introduction of E-coli into Dominica through romaine lettuce.
“For this reason we are not issuing any import permits for the importation of romaine lettuce into Dominica,” he stressed.
Laville further mentioned that his department has advised importers, those who have already brought in romaine lettuce that they remove it from the shelves.
He said imports that are already on the way, will be confiscated and destroyed.
Meantime, Laville revealed that there is no plastic cabbage in Dominica.
“After we got the report of the plastic cabbage, the Plant Protection and Quarantine Services along with the Environmental Health Department, we collected some samples from where the cabbage was said to have come from and we brought this into our labs where we conducted some tests on the cabbage and found out that there was no plastic cabbage.”
He said the cabbage is genuine and safe for consumption.
The Caribbean has become a dumping ground for products out of the US of A. Next time you purchase an item in your local hardware store, read the fine print. Many of these products are carcinogenic in nature,and some are banned in some States in the very USA . Take Gromoxone for eg. If a shipment of this pesticide from the USA is found to be defective or otherwise, it cannot be shipped back to the USA. The USA shipS these products out,but are not that stupid to take them back in.
My first reaction was: “Why are we, the nature island of the Caribbean; rivers, valleys, hill and mountain importing lettuce and cabbage”?
The only reasonable explanation is; Fertile soil? Checked! abundance of water? Checked? clean air? checked!
People willing to work the land and make it produce? Hmmmm. Might be missing. Lettuce can’t plant itself. The last time I was home, in all fairness, if it was not for the Haitian selling in the market, I would not have had vegetables.
A Caribbean Prime Minister once said that we are a people with Champagne taste with Mauby pockets. It appears to be the in thing to diss our local products in preference for those from overseas. Christmas is upon us and we will see great sales taking place of the North American pine”christmas” tree. We have also acquired a taste for strawberries .
Importing lettuce then Austrie will come and talk of how 3rd rate chicken being dumped on us but lettuce you can grow in the bottom half of a plastic Quenchi bottle we have to import it.
Why are we even importing Letttuce? This is getting so Ridiculous right now. Let the people order their lettuce if they don’t want locally grown lettuce. Grow local buy local!
Yeah very good Dominican’s a land so fertile and free. With ideal climate and water. We import vegetables. wen we should be feeding the Caribbean region or world. what will we do next import water and air and soil. dat is d next leve CONGRATULATIONS.
How about a permanent Ban on all produce that can be produced at Dominica,,,
Is about time Ban be placed on stuff we can produce on island!!!
Does anybody ever ask the question, why is all of the Romaine lettuce, regardless of the area it came from in the US or Canada, all of the sudden labeled as bad and banned? They say that it is because of E. coli. Well, wash the lettuce before you eat it. E. Coli is indigenous in all soils and the GI tracts of people.
Change ur name for ur next post having educated the mases Dr.x2anonymous2
Reggie told us about bad chicken,although he was running his large mouth in the house about breast.
Now it is bad lettuce…. Reggie?
I say it’s bad governance!
No wonder so many of us have cancers of all sorts!!!!!!! In the meantime I saw a man blowing a horn on Skerrit’s head on Sunday night,while Melissa was trying to duck/Dodge the saliva…Domininica is a commess country I say so!
Skerrit Must Go
Skerrit Must Go
LAZY Skerrit Must Go Now
Apres Bon Dieu C’est la terre Dominique! Or is it the USA and Canada?
I have one word for you all, Resilience! Now go figure it out! Imported lettuce in the Commonwealth of Dominica, one of the most fertile Caribbean islands! I cannot get over this one! From where? USA and Canada? Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Labour must go now! Imported lettuce? Oh God I am crying for Dominica! Oui Papa Bon Dieu!
How else they going to feed all the wealthy foreign visitors at their new hotels like the Slimpinski. You think they will be happy with a KFC and even their fries and chicken are imported.
All I can think about is how we importing lettuce from the united states.
Iamanidiot This seems dumb right but there are preconditions even to dumbness.How can RS be a P.M
Austrie, Monso Pie just to name 3.
I saw a video of Rayburn dancing I had to laugh. ( maybe he laughed more as he did so straight to the bank with all those free 100,000.00’s of $ from passport sales being shared) I can recall Lorraine Bannis saying after Skerrit did a cock dance in 2005 or so for independence. She suggested filming it and making videos to sell in the diaspora lol! So t look like Rayburn does not want to be left behind. hahahahahaha
DA cannot be more comical. Now we importing not only lettuce but gospel peeps to blow horns
Not even Hollywood could write a script like that. Alwin Bully etc should make a play similar to Ruler in Hi roona. Unfortunately he too drank Skerrit’s portion.
Dominica have so much land and we have to order garbage that have to be spray really shame on the government to let that come in to our lovely nature isle
How could Dominica be importing lettuce from the USA and Canada? That’s impossible! You mean to say we import everything and have nothing to export? Even Criminals Skerrit importing and sadly, he giving them our passports and make some of them fake ambassadors. What doe Dominica have? These days Skerrit importing Doctors, Cuban Nurses, building contractors, electrician, helpers, political advisors, now political prophet / preacher just to name a few, while we lost every ability we once had to attract foreign investment. What on earth has happened to us? The state of Dominica today, under Skerrit, reminds me of the fall of the great city of Babylon: ” And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. -Revelation 14:8″. We could just lift Babylon out and replace it with Dominica
Isn’t Rossevelt Medard Douglas-Skerrit claims to be a farmer? hahahahahahahahhah tickle us Madard alias Kaka doc. He ought to be a big supplier of lettuce and cabbage from his farm. Medard garcon you have and continue to talk so much doodoo by now we can accept the fact that U have verbal “chorlawlaw.
Man the only thoughts going thru my head is what happened in Hondurus with President Zelaya trip out on a one way ticket. But that would not be enough .These guys have to be taught a lesson. No pardon jail indefinitely. The charges to be filed by 2059.let’s give these criminals something to cry their lachrymal glands dry in jail. Madard for being a crook to the homeland. the president for being an opportunist, Nkomo betrayal as a pseudo liberator who has become a multimillioneer.
Excellent remarks tickle me somebody!!!!!. I am with you all the way.
Recruit me to drag em out off bed 3:00 am I have 200 plus friends young willing and able to get the job done in a heart beat.
Let’s get these dirty ball heads out of the public eyes, from parliament from their stolen masions and elsewhere and place em where they need for the rest of the time their hearts beat. We can even cut the beating early.
Iamanid lol! I feel your pain. This is one of the reasons I have no interest in my country anymore. So we come? When I was a lil bouy there was a slogan eat what we grow& grow what we eat. That was in the early 70’s. I even wanted to do Agri-engineering and extremely enthusiastic about it
Now am a grand pa lol hahahhahhaha. we importing this basics from the USA and elsewhere. man I doh want to but I have to laugh. This is a fundamental step in any country more so an island nation which is or should I say a bread basket.
This is what emanates from a gov’t which is unfit to work on my family plot .
Resilient in passport sales? Let me hear you Sr. Counsel incharge of passport sales who at SIFOCOL called self Nkomo now he should like V8 back in the day would say Mois change’ nom mois & choose a capitalist name instead would Donald Lawrencee suffice?
Seriously? Dominica imports lettuce? I thought we were providing every cruise ship with fresh lettuce and other fruits and vegetables? We should be exporting lettuce! And we not even importing from Latin America or other Caribbean islands, imported lettuce from USA and Canada? Really? Eh beh nou mal papa! Dominique malade! I give up!
The worse part is, the romaine lettuce is grown in California. That is 4 time zones away from Dominica.
Let me tell you something. Sometimes you can not get local lettuce in the market. I don’t know how clean ou local lettuce is how they sell it with water sprinkling on it from a pail, the size varying all over the place and not always cheap. Same thing with carrots and eggs. As for fish, I don’t go to the fish market in Roseau because honestly I don’t know how fresh it is and how many times refrozen. Our agriculture is in a sad state with no standards. Sorry about that but that whole story about resilience is a sick joke right now just propaganda for the outside world. Just words, that’s all.
Stick with CAKE!
This is sad. We need to eat what we grow people. Support local. Suppliers usually supply what consumers demand as long as economic conditions are favourable. If our demand is local, it shall be what’s on the shelves. Look at the case of the perm and hor the supply has decreased in recent years compared to the increasing supply of products for natural hair.
Please support local, my people.
ALAS PAPA BON DIEU !!
LAWD A MASSI (Lord have mercy)
We are importing such a perishable from these places giving away all our little foreign exchange when have the best soils in
Isle of beauty, isle of splendour,
Isle to all so sweet and fair,
All must surely gaze in wonder
At thy gifts so rich and rare.
Our National Anthem and our God given conscience should guide us on this one – and please spare me this Free Trade Talk. I believe in free trade but LETTUCE. I recall my Ukrainian wife being bemused by locals buying Mango nectar and ground/processed coconut powder off the shelves when we have the real thing in it’s God given natural state – fresh.
Lord forgive us for we have sinned!!
As we strive to be a resilient nation we must reinforce and broadcast the Ministry of Agriculture jingle “Why don’t you eat what you grow and grow what you wanna eat”
Lord forgive us for we have sinned!!
Syl, so true. I pondered thought very thought. But it’s no surprise… Exporting less than US$100million when we import over US$400million. That’s a shame.
R U really the real/original Sylvester Cadette????????????????????????? don’t think Meadard’s apologist would say such. The author of this article sounds like a maco!!! with (it’s) no his nor her,
Are you kidding me? Dominica is importing lettuce from the US and Canada? How difficult is that to grow in Dominica? And these idiots are talking about food security? Lettuce is about the easiest and fastest vegetable to grow. If the government is serious about food security, they should impose a 200% import duty on it and encourage farmers to supply the local market.
yes same thoughts here
All I can think about is how we importing lettuce from the united states.
Same way we import tomatoes from them. Is the same ministery of agriculture that gives them the permit. Government making import duty on that but can not tax local farmers so it more profitable for them to import.
Wow after an entire week,the recall was issued last week,just to show how these incompetent politicians care about the citizens.