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                                    FDA limits salmonella warning to Mexican peppers






Mexican official says finding that pepper came from Mexico "premature"

Official says tomatoes still not "exonerated," but those on shelves are safe

The FDA advises against eating raw jalapeños from Mexico

Immune-compromised people should also avoid raw serrano peppers from Mexico


     
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Only Mexican-grown raw jalapeños and raw serrano peppers have been linked to the salmonella outbreak, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.


Raw jalapeño peppers from Mexico have been connected to the salmonella outbreak.

Mexican officials said the findings were "premature," even as the FDA issued an advisory stating that a contaminated jalapeño pepper originated in Mexico.

Mexico's National Sanitation and Farm Food Quality Service director Enrique Sanchez told The Associated Press that Mexico sent a letter to the United States on Friday "expressing our concern and our most forceful complaint against this decision."

According to AP reports, Sanchez said the FDA "has no scientific proof to make a decision that will harm Mexico enormously."

The latest development came just days after the FDA announced it discovered salmonella on a jalapeño imported from Mexico at The Agricola Zarigosa produce distribution center in McAllen, Texas.

The FDA said traceback studies of food eaten by victims who became sick indicate the contaminated jalapeño pepper originated in Mexico.

The agency concluded the distribution center was not the source of the outbreak because peppers from a number of clusters never passed through there, said Dr. David Acheson, the agency's director of food safety.

To date, all traceback studies have led to Mexico and peppers grown in the United States have not been connected to the outbreak, he said.

But Mexican Embassy spokesman Ricardo Alday noted that the investigation is ongoing.

"Mexico strongly urges the FDA to abstain from making any further public comment implicating Mexican produce in this outbreak until it has completed its investigation of jalapeño peppers in Mexico, and until the United States has assured the result with their Mexican counterparts," Alday said.

Peppers grown in the United States have not been connected to the outbreak that has sickened more than 1,000 people since April, said FDA spokesman Michael Herndon.

Initially, tomatoes seemed the most likely source of the outbreak. The FDA told consumers to avoid certain raw tomatoes on June 7, prompting grocery chains and some restaurants nationwide to stop offering them.

The agency lifted that ban last week, determining that tomatoes currently in fields and stores are safe.  Learn about the differences between salmonella and E. coli »

The FDA now advises consumers to avoid raw jalapeño peppers grown in Mexico and any foods containing raw jalapeño peppers grown in Mexico.

Only immune-compromised people, the elderly and infants should avoid raw serrano peppers from Mexico, Herndon said.

Cooked or pickled peppers from cans or jars are not part of the warning.  Learn how to keep your food safe »

Tomatoes, which were the original focus of the investigation, still have not been ruled out as a possible source of the outbreak, said Dr. David Acheson, director of food safety for the agency.

"The science that indicated that tomatoes were implicated was strong and is still strong," he said "It's not that tomatoes have been exonerated."

He said officials do not believe that tomatoes currently on the market are contaminated.

Officials said earlier this week that tomatoes could have been paired with another food that was contaminated, prompting the outbreak.


So far, 1,294 people infected with the same type of Salmonella Saintpaul have been identified in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At least 242 have been hospitalized.

This particular Salmonella Saintpaul fingerprint is normally seen in only 25 cases a year, said Ian Williams, chief of the CDC's Outbreak Net Team.