FDA gives all-clear on tomatoes,not peppers

[Ggreen 12]

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration declared on Thursday that it is again safe to eat all tomatoes now on sale in the U.S., canceling its warning in June that some tomatoes were the cause of a still-unsolved outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

At the same time, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that those who are young, elderly or who suffer from weak immune systems should not eat fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers, because the latest scientific detective work points to those peppers as a source of this particular strain of the bacteria, Salmonella Saintpaul. That warning includes fresh peppers in such foods as salsa.

The new pepper warning suggests that government scientists are feeling more confident about signs that point to bad peppers as a source of the illnesses, which have so far afflicted 1,196 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, according to the CDC. They stopped short, however of issuing a broad warning not to eat peppers.

Illinois has reported 113 salmonella-related illnesses, the second highest among states, according to the CDC. Texas, where the outbreak was first discovered, ranks first with 456.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lif...0,1722695.story

[Sassy1natl 0]

Guess it's too late to start a garden. But next year, I'm on it. Then I won't have to worry.