Salmonella saintpaul Investigation

Posted by Kathy Quan Jul 31, 2008

On May 26, 2008, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) told the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) that evidence pointed to tainted tomatoes in the recent outbreak of Salmonella saintpaul. This was based on the fact that over 84% of the infected individuals reported having eaten tomatoes.

And so the tomato was removed from restaurant menus and shunned in grocery stores for weeks while the FDA searched for infected samples until a tainted jalapeno pepper was found at a Texas plant on July 21. This week, the FDA has added the fact that jalapeno and Serrano peppers from a specific Mexican farm are now the most likely culprit.

Controversy surrounds this investigation and many fingers are being pointed at different agencies. Tomatoes grown in Florida became a prime suspect even though the infection outbreak occurred in the Southwest where the tomatoes are imported from Mexico.

Outbreaks in several areas of the country were traced to the peppers by state public health agencies such as Minnesota in about half the time spent trying to track down the tomato link.

Mexican authorities are now upset because the FDA was possibly citing the wrong Mexican farm and causing unnecessary concerns for growers and consumers.

Tomatoes have ben cleared and the investigation continues.