FDA Issues Final Guidance On Ackee Imports

Ackee fruit, if eaten when improperly ripened or processed, can result in severe illness, coma, or death

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance on ackee fruit products and opened up a 60-day comment period yesterday.

Ackee fruit was featured as one of the Top 10 Most Dangerous Foods by Time Magazine in 2010, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first proposed changes for ackee fruit regulation in Nov, 2012. This West African native is grown in Central and South America, as well as in many Caribbean countries and south Florida. Products may be marketed as “akee,” “akee apple,” and “vegetable brain,” or “akie,” “ishin,” or “seso vegetal,” in Spanish.

Classified as a fruit, though most often prepared as a vegetable, both the red lining and black seed are highly toxic. It is critical to safe processing that the pods are allowed to open on their own, with both the lining and the seeds separating from the creamy yellow flesh — the only safe part to eat. When cooked, the flesh of the ackee fruit turns bright yellow and resembles scrambled eggs; however, its flavor is described as creamy with a slightly bitter, very subtle flavor. It is most often included in recipes prepared with fish.

Ackee flesh can be processed in various ways, including raw, frozen, canned, or dried. When prepared improperly, can contain high levels of hypoglycin A. Hypoclycin A causes what has been dubbed Jamaican Vomiting Sickness, which can also lead to coma or death.

In addition to the final guidance the FDA just opened to comment, the final Compliance Policy Guide and the FDA’s Import Alert 21-11 are also available. Additionally, a “Green List,” consisting of facilities proven to have met the criteria for exclusion from Detention without Physical Examination (DWPE), has been compiled. Only three countries, Belize, Haiti, and Jamaica, with a total of 12 firms, have FDA-approved ackee products. There is also a “Yellow List” for facilities identified as having food safety controls in place. These processors must provide laboratory test results in order to secure release of the shipment from the FDA. “Red List” establishments will be excluded from import to the U.S. All ackee processors are assessed by the FDA on a facility-by-facility basis.