The salmonella outbreak has now made 1,017 people sick, making it the worst foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. And the government is warning, hot peppers may be partly to blame.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says raw plum, Roma, and red round tomatoes are still the main suspects in the outbreak and we still shouldn’t eat them, but it’s also warning people at high risk of getting severely ill from salmonella (the elderly, infants, and those with a weak immune system) to avoid eating raw jalapeño and serrano peppers, too.
Investigators looking into the outbreak found jalapeños caused some of the illnesses. As for serrano peppers, they were included in the warning because they’re hard for a lot of people to tell apart.
The scary thing is the CDC says the outbreak is not showing any signs of slowing down – there have been about 25-40 cases reported every day since the outbreak began April 10, and it’s now hit 41 states (CDC map below).
More confusion – the CDC has found some people who got sick “were more likely to have recently consumed raw tomatoes, fresh jalapeño peppers, and fresh cilantro. These items were commonly, though not always, consumed together, so that study could not determine which item(s) caused the illnesses.”
So… now under investigation – raw tomatoes, jalapeños and serrano peppers, plus fresh cilantro. What a mess.
Photo Credit: stock.xchng
Great post. I have been blogging on it since the beginning and see no letup. What a disaster for people involved and the tomato industry.
It’s getting a little bit freaky as they keep expanding the possibilities to other veggies. I wish they’d figure this out!
Great blog. What I hate so much is that I am trying so hard to be healthy and only shop the “outside” aisles of the grocery stores to avoid preservatives, additives, etc. This stuff happens and it freaks you out! AND it is always stuff that I have eaten and shared with my family!
Yes, it is quite disturbing that they can’t figure this out yet! Makes you want to grow your own fruits and veggies, doesn’t it?