OK to Eat the Tomatoes Again

(July 20, 2008) - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it's ok to go back to eating those tomatoes it warned about in June. On June 7th, FDA issued a warning about certain types of raw red tomatoes saying they were suspected in an outbreak of salmonella. (Read about "Salmonella") At that time, FDA said there had been 57 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul in New Mexico and Texas, including 17 hospitalizations. Since then, according to the CDC, 1,220 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

After a lengthy investigation, the FDA has determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic market are not associated with the current outbreak.

The attention of the investigators is now turning to peppers. The FDA, working with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health departments, is continuing to follow epidemiological and other evidence showing that raw jalapeño and raw serrano peppers now available in the domestic market may be linked to illnesses in this outbreak. At this time, people in high risk populations, such as elderly persons, infants and people with impaired immune systems (Read about "The Immune System"), should avoid eating raw jalapeño and raw serrano peppers.