Tainted Jalapeno Peppers Linked to Farm in Mexico

July 25 (Bloomberg) — 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.

The issue is not where the “Salmonella” tainted shit came from” It’s the No one knew factor. We heard it was Tomatoes and “It could have came from anywhere” answers, THAT COST A LOT OF FARMERS A LOT OF MONEY! But then it was determined that it was Jalapeno’s… BUT no answer from where they came. Jalapenos are grown in the USA too and that cost OUR FARMERS MORE MONEY!

We had a small issue of “tainted” food and WE failed miserably. If I was a terrorist and wanted to kill a lot people I would look into the food import business. The FDA is being ran like every other Government agency, Lackluster at best.