WASHINGTON, Jul 30, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The source of a salmonella
outbreak initially linked to tomatoes has been narrowed to a pepper farm in
Mexico, officials said Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported the federal investigators found the Salmonella
saintpaul strain in irrigation water and serrano peppers on a Mexican farm where
jalapeno peppers are also grown.
"We have a smoking gun it appears," said Lonnie King, a director at the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
David Acheson, a senior FDA food safety official, revealed the breakthrough
Wednesday while testifying at a congressional hearing on the salmonella
outbreak.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now warning consumers to avoid raw
serrano peppers grown and packed in Mexico.
Since April, more than 1,300 people have fallen ill from Salmonella saintpaul in
43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, the newspaper reported.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International