Jul. 28--To read the latest FDA briefing on samonella, click here.
LAS CRUCES -- A salmonella outbreak that may have contributed to the deaths of two Texas men appears to be ongoing and consumers are being urged to avoid eating raw jalapenos, federal agencies said Tuesday.
FDA investigators announced that they found a strain of salmonella that matched the one in victims in a single jalapeno pepper grown in Mexico. New Mexico, with 103 cases, has had the third-highest number of cases per state.
Chris Minnick, a spokesman for the state Department of Health in Las Cruces, said despite the lack of a definitive source, consumers are being advised as a precaution to avoid eating raw jalapenos.
"It's a complicated case. Folks are looking for that silver bullet, that definitive (statement about) "this is what caused it and this is what you should do about it,'" Minnick said.
Bob Baur, co-owner of Toucan Market, said he's been selling nothing but locally grown, organic peppers -- which are not subject to any recall -- and would continue to do so as long as the harvest
lasts.
"It wouldn't be so devastating to us if we couldn't purchase jalapenos from the outside, because we have so many locally. But if they put an all-out ban on peppers, I think that would be devastating to this community," Baur said. "You sure don't want to mess around with green chile, jalapenos or pecans in Las Cruces."
Toucan's supplier, Jeff Graham, of Mysterious Horizons organic farm in Fairacres, harvests around 40 pounds a week of organic jalapenos for Toucan, Mountain View Co-op Market and members of his community-supported agriculture group, who buy weekly shares of produce from April until Thanksgiving. As for his unexpectedly large crop of jalapenos, he said, "I'm starting to look awfully smart when it was just a fluke."
Graham said the series of warnings -- against tomatoes, cilantro, serranos and now jalapenos -- has done nothing but help his farm.
"Customers now are looking for local sources, with all these scares going on," Graham said. "We're selling everything we're growing."
Graham said he's long been a supporter of food grown close to home, for just this reason: "The consumer needs to get back to buying local and learning where their food comes from."
Mack Sewell, state epidemiologist for the Department of Health, said contaminated jalapenos might not be the only problem -- something he admitted was probably confusing for the public.
"I don't think it's a single isolated product," Sewell said. "The state of New Mexico obviously doesn't have the authority to go down in Mexico and investigate so this is clearly an international deal with the FDA and Mexican authorities."
Sewell said washing in clean water and cooking should be sufficient protection against bacteria and that the very young and very old should probably take the warnings more seriously.
Two men in Texas, one in his 80s who died from cardiopulmonary failure and one in his 60s who died of cancer, were infected with the strain when they died, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said "may have contributed" to their deaths. A total of 1,256 people nationwide and in Canada have been infected between April 10 and July 5, with at least 231 hospitalized.
Minnick said if people continue to eat raw jalapenos, they should be on the lookout for symptoms, which typically include abdominal pains within 72 hours: "If they get any kind of onset of symptoms they should contact their primary care provider."
Ashley Meeks can be reached at ameeks@lcsun-news.com
Consumers everywhere are advised to follow the general food safety guidelines below:
-- Refrigerate within 2 hours or discard cut, peeled, or cooked produce items
-- Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged produce items, and discard any that appear spoiled.
-- Thoroughly wash all produce items under running water.
-- Keep produce items that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood, and raw produce items.
-- Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.
Consumers are reminded that vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet and that cooking vegetables kills bacteria, including salmonella.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Online: www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html
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