Florida Senator Rick Scott has called for an investigation into garlic imported from China, saying that production methods mean the food could pose a national security risk.

"There is a severe public health concern over the quality and safety of garlic grown in foreign countries—most notably, garlic grown in Communist China," the senator said in a letter to the Department of Commerce on Wednesday.

Scott urged the department to open an investigation into the security risk posed by all forms of Chinese-imported garlic.

"Whole or separated into constituent cloves, whether or not peeled, chilled, fresh, frozen, provisionally preserved or packed in water or other neutral substance," Scott wrote.

Citing cooking blogs, home magazines, YouTube videos, and documentaries, he claimed that it was "well-documented" that garlic from China was fertilized with "human feces" and was grown in sewage.