Maybe It’s Jalapeno? Grocers Pull Down Stocks

In response to the call pronounced by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday that tagged jalapeno peppers as the possible cause behind the national Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, the grocery stores and area restaurants today pulled off all produce from their shelves and menus. Since its first signs of outbreak in April, the food-borne illness has lodged over 1,251 cases in 43 states across the United States.

According to the latest findings, the FDA claims to have found a single contaminated jalapeño pepper grown in Mexico and stored in a Texas border town warehouse.

Although the ultimate source of the contamination is yet to be found, Dr. David Acheson, the beleaguered FDA associate commissioner in charge of the probe, called the discovery of a genetic match for the salmonella strain on the jalapeño "a very important break in the case”

As per the fresh updates made by the federal authority, the officials are now advising consumers to avoid raw jalapeno and serrano peppers and all such foods that contain them.

Although the FDA still believes that tainted tomatoes may have been a source of the bacteria in the initial period of the outbreak, last week the warnings were lifted.

About Salmonella:

Salmonella is a rod-shaped Gram-negative entero-bacterium that lives in the intestinal tract of animals, often contaminates food and water through fecal route. The feces-borne bacterial infection can typically cause conditions like bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

While, the number of affected cases may be higher, many people recover without seeing a doctor or having a stool sample analyzed. With a standard recovery time of four to seven days, severe salmonella infections can prove serious and occasionally fatal especially in young children, weak or aged people, and those with weakened immune systems.