The importation of one of most popular Mexican cooking ingredients, cilantro, has been partially banned in the U.S. by The Food and Drug Administration.

The organization has taken this decision after human feces were found in growing fields located in Puebla, Mexico. "Sources of contamination may include fecal contamination of growing areas, irrigation of fields with water contaminated with sewage, cleaning or cooling produce with contaminated water, and/or poor hygienic practices of workers that harvest and process the produce, and lack of adequate cleaning and sanitizing of equipment that comes in contact with the product," said the FDA.

This discovery has been linked to a couple of annually recurring outbreaks of cyclosporiasis in different states that occurred in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Another outbreak is currently happening in the country.  

"Texas Department of State Health Services and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection have identified cilantro from the Mexican state of Puebla as a suspect vehicle with respect to separate illness clusters,” said the FDA.

As a result of this ban, all the cilantro from Mexico will be stopped at the border from April to August. Cilantro from the state of Puebla can’t be imported to the U.S. without a previous inspection and certification.