Americans Urged To Avoid Mexican Jalapenos

FDA: Peppers From Mexico Linked To Nationwide Salmonella Outbreak; U.S. Crop OK

(AP)  Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico seem to be implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.

The Food and Drug Administration urged consumers to avoid raw Mexican jalapenos and the serrano peppers often confused with them, or dishes made with them such as fresh salsa.

But the big question is how those who love hot peppers would know where the chiles came from, especially in restaurant food.

"You're going to have to ask the person you're buying it from," said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's food safety chief, who is advising restaurants and grocery stores to know their suppliers and pass that information to customers.

The big break in an outbreak that now has sickened nearly 1,300 people came on Monday, when FDA announced it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.

Tomatoes had been the prime suspect for weeks. And while those now on the market are considered safe to eat, health officials still haven't exonerated them from causing illnesses when the outbreak began in April.

The pepper discovery threatened to paralyze that industry, too. Chile production is a $500 million crop in New Mexico alone, which produces most of the U.S. crop, state agriculture commissioners wrote the FDA on Thursday.

Friday's move clearing U.S. peppers came because clusters of illnesses around the country all seem to be tracing back to Mexican jalapenos, though not all sold through the McAllen, Texas, produce warehouse, Acheson said.

"Domestically grown products are not tracing back at all to the outbreak," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "On Monday, we didn't know exactly where they all were coming from. Today we're certain these are coming from Mexico."

FDA inspectors are on the farm that grew the only tainted pepper discovered so far, trying to determine where else it sent a harvest that began in April, Acheson said. The farm is large, but the question now is whether it harvested enough to be responsible for such a geographically large outbreak.

The news is a relief for U.S. growers.

"It's good news, late in the process. It's an announcement they should have made some days ago," said John McClung of the Texas Produce Association.

He called the warning still too broad, because many peppers from Mexico are grown on farms in regions not implicated.

At the same time, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are retracing the probe's early steps to see if jalapenos were missed early on - or if tomatoes did indeed play a role. Initial reports from the first ill in New Mexico and Texas provided a strong link to tomatoes, but salsa was eaten, too, with less attention paid to its other ingredients.

"We're still very interested in looking at the role tomatoes played in this outbreak given the strong epidemiological association," said CDC's Dr. Ian Williams. That is "very much part of the active investigation at the moment."

To date, the CDC has confirmed 1,294 people sickened from the outbreak. It doesn't appear to be over yet, with people falling ill as late as July 10.

[bequialife]

Why is is that everything that comes from Mexico is bad? The people, and the food. Why do we want, or import anything from Mexico? It is a filthy cesspool, humans included.

[ghostcommand]

Salmonella was found on one Jalapeno pepper and the FDA/CDC is not ruling out tomatoes. Are these people brown shirt political operatives of the Fascist''s of America who are doing this to create anxiety in the American people. The Nazi''s used anxiety as one of their psychological tools against the German people. Is the same thing happening here in America?

[snapper4298]

ghostcommand

Have a good munch on some Mexican peppers and let us know if your nazi theory is correct.

[drivelphobe]

Is that it? Nothing about the lack of control by the Mexican authorities to enforce hygienic handling of produce? Is there any reason why we should even allow anything grown in Mexico to come into the US?

Everyone knew that Mexico was the cause of the outbreak but the media is so secretive as well as the CDC.

There is nothing in Mexico but filth, unsanitary conditions and ignorance when it comes to their agricultural activities.

Of course the US crop is okay. When we say close the borders to Mexico, we mean no more importation of produce grown in their fecal and urine saturated fields.

I want home grown in the USA and I''ll pay whatever is costs.

[edintex]

Americans Urged To Avoid Mexican Jalapenos...

Are there even any AMERICAN jalapenos grown here anymore? What about the American jalapenos grown in Mexico? Or Mexican jalapenos grown in America by Mexicans?

[Skysblue]

Why is it that the "less Government regulation" people cannot see that their short sided-ness is RESPONSIBLE for this?

Get Government out of our lives, right?

Long as your child doesn''t die from food poisoning.

[libsluv2spit]

Salmonella was found on one Jalapeno pepper and the FDA/CDC is not ruling out tomatoes. Are these people brown shirt political operatives of the Fascist''''s of America who are doing this to create anxiety in the American people. The Nazi''''s used anxiety as one of their psychological tools against the German people. Is the same thing happening here in America?

Posted by ghostcommand at 06:58 PM : Jul 25, 2008
+ report abuse


*******

how about this...eat as much jalapenos from mexico as you can..just do it to spit the us govt..

[libsluv2spit]

Salmonella was found on one Jalapeno pepper and the FDA/CDC is not ruling out tomatoes. Are these people brown shirt political operatives of the Fascist''''s of America who are doing this to create anxiety in the American people. The Nazi''''s used anxiety as one of their psychological tools against the German people. Is the same thing happening here in America?

Posted by ghostcommand at 06:58 PM : Jul 25, 2008
+ report abuse


*******

how about this...eat as much jalapenos from mexico as you can..just do it to spit the us govt..

[bhappy2-2]

It''s just another way for the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS to harm America. By making our food supply unsafe the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS are one step closer to making this North Mexico.

[Scooter68]

Let''s make is simple shut down the southern borders completely. Let them eat their own food and work in their own country to clean it up.

[nikkicatt1]

I am ashamed of all of you that are saying Mexico is filthy. When was the last time you looked at the projects in any major city. Have any of you even been to Mexico? Maybe the farmers are behind in advances in growing. Think about this: how many farmers are in America versus 50 years ago? America outsources everything - even farming. So, get off your high horses and WASH you produce. VIVA Jalapenos!!!!

[nextgenman]

Posted by nikkicatt1 at 06:59 AM : Jul 26, 2008
--------
Uh, washing doesn''t help. Salmonella Bacteria invade the cells of vegetables so scrubbing the outside doesn''t have much effect.

[hypnotoad72]

America outsources everything - even farming. So, get off your high horses and WASH you produce. VIVA Jalapenos!!!!

Posted by nikkicatt1
---------------------

Why does America offshore everything? (because it''s cheaper, but in theory there comes a point when the cheapness mindset has nowhere left to go. Or, that''s my worry at any rate).

Feel free to eat them indiscriminately* -- as was said, the bacteria penetrates the cells; washing is not a panacea in this instance.

* not really, but the point is, getting sick is nasty and so is thinking indiscriminately.

[hypnotoad72]

By making our food supply unsafe the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS are one step closer to making this North Mexico.

Posted by bhappy2-2
----------------

Then why hire illegals? Surely it seems ironic that a living wage cannot be paid to pick a necessity to life?

[rushlimpdrug]

So the government is telling Americans:

"Don''t eat the Mexican''s pepper."

Sounds like a caption for a "dirty" cartoon.

[yankeerebel7]

That''s it...just close down the southern border now.

[rushlimpdrug]

That''''s it...just close down the southern border now.
Posted by yankeerebel7 at 12:05 PM


Just keep the cheep chineeeze food coming.

''Cause we can trust the chineeeze to send us
good stuff.

[czmdm]

One pepper out of millions. What a larf. More like propaganda since hundreds of Americans suffered through unclean American tomatos.

Lot of Xenophobs here. Afraid of a country and a people that they don''t even know.

[czmdm]

By the way the Mexican government is now advising Mexican Jalapenos to avoid North Americans.

[sociald63]

what about those da-mn taco trucks ??

[rickstas]

That''s all you need -- a pepper that causes diarrhea!

[six-six-seis]

By the way the Mexican government is now advising Mexican Jalapenos to avoid North Americans.


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Posted by czmdm ........


hahahahhaaahahhahahaha... best post yet....