FDA Lifts Warning on Tomatoes, But Other Veggies Still Suspect

Although the F.D.A. has been unable to pinpoint the source of a recent salmonella outbreak that infected over 1,190 people in 42 states, officials have announced that all varieties of tomatoes currently in the fields and in stores are safe to eat.

But don’t go dipping into the pico de gallo just yet, because the investigation into raw jalapeño and serrano peppers is still ongoing. According to CNN the F.D.A. is getting 20 to 30 reports of the illness a day, but they say that means the outbreak is “waning.” (Or is it “in its last throes?”)

Since April, at least 224 people have been hospitalized and two elderly men with pre-existing medical conditions were killed by the rare Salmonella Saintpaul bacteria strain, which in most cases causes diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and sometimes fever. Tomato growers lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $450 million; the F.D.A. suspected that the bacteria had tainted tomatoes from Florida or Mexico but was never able to find the Saintpaul strain at any farms.

Photo courtesy Peeperita.