Salmonella infects over 1,000; peppers now eyed

[marmar]

AP, via Yahoo!:



Salmonella infects over 1,000; peppers now eyed
Wednesday July 9, 7:11 pm ET
By Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer
Salmonella infects over 1,000; hot peppers added to raw tomatoes as possible cause of illness


WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than 1,000 people now have become ill from salmonella initially linked to raw tomatoes, a sobering milestone Wednesday that makes this the worst foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. Adding to the confusion, the government is warning certain people to avoid types of hot peppers, too.

Certain raw tomatoes -- red round, plum and Roma -- remain a chief suspect and the government stressed again Wednesday that all consumers should avoid them unless they were harvested in areas cleared of suspicion.

But people at highest risk of severe illness from salmonella also should not eat raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Wednesday. The most vulnerable are the elderly, people with weak immune systems and infants.

Raw jalapenos caused some of the illnesses, conclude CDC investigations of two clusters of sick people who ate at the same restaurant or catered event.

But jalapenos cannot be the sole culprit -- because many of the ill insist they didn't eat hot peppers or foods like salsa that contain them, CDC food safety chief Dr. Robert Tauxe told The Associated Press. As for serrano peppers, that was included in the warning because they're difficult for consumers to tell apart. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080709/salmonella_tomatoes.html

[SoCalDem]

1. I'm thinking that there are a lot more people now, with compromised immune systems

perhaps we have always had "bugs" in, or on our foods, but maybe our systems were able to fight them off better before :(

I also once heard that many people get salmonella, and never connect it to a specific food or restaurant meal...they just assume they have a 24-hr bug or are catching the "flu"..

[EvilAL]

3. I'll agree with that,

But I'll also say that maybe the bugs are getting more potent.. :) I pride myslef on never getting sick, so either I have a great immune system while my whole family cathes the "flu" and I walk around and do my thing, or I just have better snot in my nose to catch it. hahah

[1]

4. "and never connect it to a specific food or restaurant meal..."

true that.

i don't know about compromised immune systems, but if everyone that awoke with a case of the trots (or worse) reported it, the true magnitude of this problem would be overwhelming.

[hobbit709]

2. If you can't tell the difference

between a jalopeno and a serrano, you probably can't tell the difference between a poblano and a bell either.

[Speck Tater]

5. And friends called me strange for growing my own peppers and tomatoes. NT