Over 1200 people have been sickened in a Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that was initially associated with tomatoes. Several weeks ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers not to eat certain raw tomatoes due to possible contamination with Salmonella Saintpaul. The FDA has lifted the Salmonella warning on red and Roma tomatoes. According to the Star Tribune,
“The U.S. government has declared it’s OK to eat tomatoes again, lifting its Salmonella warning amid signs that the outbreak — while not over — may finally be slowing.”
The FDA also announced that one jalapeno pepper sample is a positive genetic match with the Salmonella Saintpaul strain causing the current Salmonella outbreak that has over 1200 confirmed cases. According to the FDA:
The positive sample was obtained during an FDA inspection at a produce distribution center in McAllen, Texas. The pepper was grown on a farm in Mexico, however, that does not mean that the pepper was contaminated in Mexico.
. . . Since a recall will not immediately remove all potentially contaminated peppers from the food supply, FDA is also asking consumers to avoid eating raw jalapeno peppers or foods made from raw jalapeno peppers until further notice in order to prevent additional cases of illness. This recommendation does not include cooked or pickled jalapeno peppers.
The produce distribution center, Agricola Zaragoza has recalled all jalapeno peppers distributed since June 30, 2008.
There are 22 confirmed cases of Salmonella Saintpaul in Minnesota as of yesterday, according to the CDC. If you have any questions about Salmonella lawsuits, please contact a Salmonella lawyer at our Minnesota law firm: 612-338-0202, 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit the firm’s free consultation form.
