Over 1,000 people across the US and Canada have become ill with salmonella, US food safety officials have admitted, as the probe into the tomato salmonella outbreak is extended to jalapeno and serrano peppers.
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The US Food and Drug Administration issued an update on the outbreak – and its investigation – yesterday (9 July) and said 1,017 people had become infected since April.
The FDA warned US consumers last month to avoid three types of tomato – Roma, red plum and red round tomatoes – due to possible salmonella contamination.
During its investigation into the outbreak, the agency has faced fierce criticism over its handling of safety standards for produce and for the absence of mandatory safety guidelines for produce firms.
The investigation remains ongoing and the FDA said a possible link to the outbreak had emerged outside of tomatoes.
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By GlobalData“Although epidemiological and other evidence continues to have a strong association with certain raw tomatoes, a recent case control study and disease cluster information provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that not only tomatoes, but also raw jalapeno and serrano peppers may be linked to illnesses in this continuing outbreak,” the FDA said.
Two deaths have been linked to the outbreak, while at least 203 people have been hospitalised, the CDC said, which labelled the investigation “complex and difficult”.
The CDC pointed to problems in identifying the exact foods that had been eaten by those taken ill and the difficulty in testing perishable foods.
“Tracing suspect produce items back to processors and growers is an integral part of the effort to identify a single source and a possible means of contamination,” the CDC said.
