Requests to resume onion shipments rejected

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration has turned down two Mexican growers' requests to resume shipping green onions to the United States after they were implicated in last year's hepatitis A outbreak in western Pennsylvania.
Inspectors who visited Tecno Agro Internacional and Agro Industrias Vigor between June 1 and June 4 did not find the virus in the water supply, but found continued problems with water quality as well as food safety and hygiene practices of workers, according to an FDA spokesman.
The administration banned shipments of green onions from these and two other companies during its investigation of the hepatitis A outbreak at the Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi's Restaurant. The outbreak affected 660 people and was blamed for four deaths.
During a December inspection of Mexican growers, U.S. investigators found problems ranging from inadequate hand-washing facilities to poor worker health. Investigators also questioned the water quality used in the fields, packing sheds and ice makers.