Keeping unsafe foods, drugs, devices and other products from reaching consumers is the Food and Drug Administration's mission. Among the prevention measures used by FDA is the issuance of import alerts to keep potentially dangerous products from other countries out of the U.S. marketplace.

FDA has issued a country-wide import alert to detain all shipments of papayas from Mexico. The alert was implemented after Salmonella—bacteria that makes people sick with diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever—was found in samples of fresh whole papaya

This may be the newest import alert but it's not the only one. There are currently 264 import alerts to detain products from 150 countries or regions. Products include seafood, fruits and vegetables, cheese, rice, cosmetics, drugs, and medical devices.

Learn more about how—and why—FDA issues import alerts at

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm269384.htm