Tainted Jalapeno Peppers Linked to Farm in Mexico
( U p d a t e 2 )

Source: FDA Alert

Jalapeno peppers contaminated with a strain of salmonella linked to more than 1,200 illnesses were traced to Mexico, according to U.S. regulators, who warned not to eat raw jalapenos from that country.

The Food and Drug Administration, which on July 21 told consumers to avoid all raw jalapenos, now says it's safe to eat those grown in the U.S., said David Acheson, the agency's associate commissioner for foods, in a phone interview today.

The original jalapeno warning came after contaminated peppers were found at a distribution center in McAllen, Texas. Investigators determined the contamination didn't originate in the Texas center and that the peppers came from a farm in Mexico, Acheson said today. Separately, jalapenos believed responsible for sickening consumers were traced to multiple locations in Mexico.

``Tracebacks that we've been doing have allowed us to make a very clear determination that they are all leading back to Mexico,'' Acheson said.

Mexico denied that it was the source of the contaminated peppers, saying the claim by U.S. regulators lacked scientific evidence, according to an e-mailed statement late yesterday from the agriculture ministry.

Raw tomatoes were initially linked to the illnesses by the U.S. in June. The FDA issued warnings not to eat certain tomatoes unless they were from locations that had been cleared by regulators. The FDA lifted that warning on July 17, saying any tomatoes that may have been contaminated with salmonella were no longer being sold.

Early studies showed ``strong'' links to tomatoes, said Ian Williams, a CDC official, in a phone interview today. The CDC is trying to determine the role that peppers and tomatoes may have played in the illnesses.

Tomatoes Not `Exonerated'

``The data to date does not exonerate tomatoes,'' Williams said.

The strain of salmonella has spread to 1,294 people in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada since mid-April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. At least 242 people have been hospitalized.

People are continuing to become ill, though at a reduced rate compared with the peak of the outbreak, according to the CDC.

The FDA is getting distribution records from the farm in Mexico that supplied jalapenos to the Texas facility and is trying to determine where else those jalapenos were shipped, Acheson said.

In the agriculture ministry statement, Mexican authorities urged the U.S. to wait to make public announcements on the matter until investigations of jalapenos in both countries are finished.

The fact that the FDA hasn't found salmonella in the distribution center in McAllen doesn't mean that the bacteria originated in Mexico, the statement said.