News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials today lifted their warning about eating raw jalapeno and Serrano peppers from Mexico and said the nation's largest foodborne illness outbreak, which was linked to an uncommon Salmonella strain, appears to be over.

(CIDRAP News) – A nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked mainly to fresh hot peppers from Mexico is ending, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday, amid reports that contaminated shipments had been turned back at the US border well before the outbreak and that some restaurants and grocery stores are still buying the imported peppers.

(CIDRAP News) – A grocery chain based in Arizona removed Mexican-grown jalapeno peppers from its produce departments after some of the peppers from one of its distributors tested positive for the Salmonella outbreak strain, as the number of sick linked to the outbreak today climbed to 1,330.

(CIDRAP News) – Experts and industry leaders speaking at congressional hearings this week on the nationwide Salmonella outbreak said federal agencies should take cues from state programs if they want to improve the traceability of fresh produce and the success of foodborne disease outbreak investigations.

Editor's note: In a statement released late on Jul 30, the FDA said that the Mexican farm where the contaminated jalapeno pepper found in Texas last week was grown is not the same one where the contaminated irrigation water and Serrano pepper were found, contrary to the report below.

(CIDRAP News) – After more than 1,300 cases of Salmonella infection in 43 states over 3 months, investigators have finally found a smoking gun: a contaminated jalapeno pepper from the home of a Colorado resident who was sickened in the outbreak.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said jalapeno peppers grown in the United States are safe to eat, in view of findings that suggest the contaminated peppers responsible for many illnesses in the nationwide Salmonella outbreak came only from Mexican sources.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal authorities announced today that investigators working at a Texas produce facility found Salmonella that genetically matches the nationwide outbreak strain on a jalapeno pepper.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials today lifted warnings against eating certain tomatoes and said new clues in the ongoing nationwide Salmonella outbreak have led investigators from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explore a Mexican packinghouse that handles jalapeno and Serrano peppers.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal official today advised people in high-risk categories to avoid eating raw jalapeno and Serrano peppers in light of new clues that suggest they might be associated with a nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes that has so far sickened 1,017 people.