Recalls & Alerts
Salmonella probe could lead to shortage of hot peppers
By Ben Wasserman
Jul 14, 2008 - 5:54:41 AM

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jalapeno. Credit: wikipedia

MONDAY July 14, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Federal health officials are testing imported hot peppers to see if the produce could be the source that has caused the ongoing salmonella outbreak.  As a result, the market of jalapeno peppers may soon experience a shortage.

Hot peppers have been recently suspected sources of the outbreak that has already sickened 1,090 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada since April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some importers of jalapeno peppers have stopped shipping the produce from Mexico because the testing for salmonella takes days, USA Today reported.

Frontera Produce of Edinburg, a leading pepper importer in Texas, is still shipping, but has early destroyed one $25,000 truckload of Mexican jalapeno that had waited for 10 days before it eventually tested negative for salmonella.

The Food and Drug Administration last week warned that those who are at high risk of infection should avoid eating fresh jalapeno and Serrano peppers.

Early the FDA said consumers need to avoid raw red plum tomatoes, Roma tomatoes and round tomatoes if they come from a source that is not on the agency's safe source list.