FDA in spicy hot pursuit of salmonella source

Raw jalapeño peppers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers that jalapeño and serrano peppers grown in the United States are not connected with the current Salmonella St. Paul outbreak and consumers may feel free to eat them without concern of contamination.

The FDA’s advice to avoid raw jalapeño peppers, and foods that contain them, now applies only to peppers grown, harvested or packed in Mexico.

In addition to domestically grown raw jalapeño peppers, commercially canned, pickled and cooked jalapeño peppers from any and all geographic locations also are not connected with the current Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak.

States reported with Salmonella Saintpaul

FDA is working with state regulatory agencies and food industry groups representing restaurants, grocery stores, and wholesalers to ensure that this new advisory is clearly understood by everyone. The FDA will continue to refine its consumer guidance as the agency’s investigation continues.

This new information is based on evidence gathered by the intensive investigation that has been ongoing for several weeks to find the source of the contamination which has led to the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. The current traceback investigation and harvesting dates, matched with the dates that people became ill, have combined to indicate that the contaminated peppers originated in Mexico.

Previously there had been no credible link between the salmonella outbreak that has made over 1,200 people ill in over 43 states and Canada, but last week a batch of jalapeno peppers that were tested were found to have the salmonella bacteria on them.

Additional traceback information obtained this week indicates that the Agricola Zaragoza plant in McAllen, Texas—from where the positive jalapeño pepper sample was taken—have determined that the Texas plant was not the original source of the contamination.

FDA is continuing to advise that people in high risk populations, such as elderly persons, infants and people with impaired immune systems, avoid eating raw Serrano peppers from Mexico or food made from raw Serrano peppers from Mexico until further notice.