Jalapeno Linked with Salmonella Outbreak

We have been keeping you up to date with information on the salmonella outbreak as with this recent post on our blog. In latest news concerning this subject, the FDA has found the same rare strain of salmonella on a jalapeno pepper that was grown in Mexico and stored in a Texas warehouse. According to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle this is the first piece of produce that has the matching strain of bacteria. Despite this lead the FDA still recommends caution saying that “the ultimate source of the contamination has yet to be found” even though last week they did claim that it was safe to eat tomatoes.

As Tom Nassif, chief executive for Western growers stated

"It's a great relief to know it's not tomatoes, even though the CDC (federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the FDA will never admit it wasn't tomatoes,"

Dr. David Acheson, FDA associate commissioner in charge of the investigation believes, however that

“during the initial outbreak - where cases were found as early as April 10 - there was a ‘clear association’ with consumption of fresh tomatoes. Only later were peppers clearly implicated, as well. “

Meanwhile California is bracing itself for another economic blow since they produce approximately $45 million worth of jalapeno peppers a year. They already suffered some setback in the form of a 40% decline in their tomato market.

Latest Update in Salmonella Outbreak

In this post on July 2, we brought you information stating that the salmonella outbreak may not have been caused by raw tomatoes as was first thought. Since then it has come to light, according to this report from MSNBC, that jalapeno peppers are another potential culprit that has come under investigation from the CDC

This has been one of the largest outbreaks, with over 1,000 reported cases, in recent history. Since May, it has been determined that the outbreaks occur in clusters of individuals across the country that have eaten foods containing both raw tomatoes and jalapenos. As a result, Dr. Robert Tauxe, from the CDC, made this statement:

“We are quite sure that neither tomatoes nor jalapenos explain the entire outbreak at this point. ... We’re presuming that both of them have caused illness,” Tauxe said.

Meanwhile the economic toll totals over $100 million in losses for the tomato industry alone. Industry wide totals for other affected foods like jalapeno and cilantro have not yet been calculated.