Salmonella Infects Over 1,000; Peppers Now Eyed

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(07-09) 16:08 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

More than 1,000 people now have become ill from salmonella initially linked to raw tomatoes, a sobering milestone Wednesday that makes this the worst foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. Adding to the confusion, the government is warning certain people to avoid types of hot peppers, too.

Certain raw tomatoes — red round, plum and Roma — remain a chief suspect and the government stressed again Wednesday that all consumers should avoid them unless they were harvested in areas cleared of suspicion.

But people at highest risk of severe illness from salmonella also should not eat raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Wednesday. The most vulnerable are the elderly, people with weak immune systems and infants.

Raw jalapenos caused some of the illnesses, conclude CDC investigations of two clusters of sick people who ate at the same restaurant or catered event.

But jalapenos cannot be the sole culprit — because many of the ill insist they didn't eat hot peppers or foods like salsa that contain them, CDC food safety chief Dr. Robert Tauxe told The Associated Press. As for serrano peppers, that was included in the warning because they're difficult for consumers to tell apart.

In some clusters of illnesses, jalapenos "simply were not on the menu," Tauxe said. "We are quite sure that neither tomatoes nor jalapenos explain the entire outbreak at this point. ... We're presuming that both of them have caused illness."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/09/national/w121121D31.DTL

[Historic NY]

1. I glad I have my garden.....its in the handling and storage.

they need to find the common denominator to that.

[Dr.Phool]

7. I have my garden too, but my jalapeno's are doing lousy.

Is it fucking safe to eat anything anymore?

Motherfucking Bush Administration.

[msongs]

2. ive got a big garden...no animal fertilizers/products of any kind except bird poop maybe nt

[lligrd]

3. The Bad News Is That Birds Can Carry Salmonella Too ny

[FarCenter]

4. Are all the cases associated with restaurants and catering services?

Or are any traced to food bought from grocery stores?

[McCamy Taylor]

5. They are covering up for lettuce, mark my words. It is the bagged kind.

That stuff is an obvious hazard. No one washes it, it is bruised, it gets moldy.

Best bet is to buy whole heads of lettuce, strip off the outer leaves and discard them and then wash what you are going to eat thoroughly before you chop it up.

All that pre-cut, pre-shredded produce puts you at risk because anywhere at the processing stage someone can contaminate it.

[defendandprotect]

6. If you're "washing" the lettuce . . . why are you saying throw away the outer leaves . .. ???

I've heard this said before and just wondering . . .

We eat tons of lettuce --

[neuvocat]

8. EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!

ALL YOUR FOOD IS UNSAFE AND YOU NEED TO RUN AND HIDE IN THE SAFE BOSOM OF BIG BROTHER!!!

[fasttense]

9. Salmonella infested food, brought to you by "free trade".

Salmonella out breaks usually occurred with meat and eggs and was quickly run down and identified before we got all these free traders who took apart all the regulations and stopped inspections. Now they can't hunt it down and it infests everything.