The Grapes’ Two-Week Trail

According to Food and Drug Administration officials, the case of the tampered grapes from Chile--two berries among 335,976 cases of red seedless grapes that reached the United States last weekend, began at the end of last month.

A chronology:

Feb. 27--The refrigerated freighter Almeria Star, loaded with Chilean grapes and other fruits, steams toward the Port of Philadelphia.

March 2--The U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile, receives a telephone message from an anonymous male caller warning in Spanish that export fruit would be poisoned. The FDA and the State Department confer, rule it a “probable hoax,” but FDA and USDA inspectors are put on alert.

March 8--The embassy receives a second call with the same message, similarly ruled a “probable hoax,” but government inspectors intensify their monitoring as the Almeria Star sails up the Delaware River toward Philadelphia.

March 10-13--A total of 335,976 cases of grapes arrive in the Port of Philadelphia. Inspectors examine 6,859 of these--a far larger sample than normal--and select six “suspicious” berries from the Almeria Star’s cargo.

March 12--Lab technicians in the FDA laboratory in Philadelphia detect traces of cyanide in two of the suspicious berries, which show puncture marks.

March 13--After intense discussions, the FDA urges consumers to avoid consumption of all Chilean fruit and recommends destroying any grapes on hand.

March 14--U.S. officials, exporters and importers ponder their next move while ordering shipments now heading for the United States to be placed in “detention” at U.S. ports.