Ingredients in Fresh Salsa Now Probed in Salmonella Outbreak

Beginning with Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded salmonella probe to fresh salsas made with tomatoes and other ingredients in an effort to find the source of the outbreak, which so far has sickened 887 people nationwide, 108 of them being hospitalized.

The other ingredients include onions, jalapenos, garlic and cilantro, according to CDC representative Glen Nowak, the USA today reported. He also said that the investigation will focus only on fresh-made salsas served at home or local restaurants and not commercially produced salsas. The decision follows reports of people being sickened with Salmonella after eating at Mexican restaurants.

However, focusing on fresh salsas does not mean the investigation will exclude tomatoes from the list of products being questioned. Dr. David Acheson, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Associate commissioner for foods said, “the tomato trail is still hot. It’s a question of whether other products are getting hotter.”

On Tuesday, the FDA activated its Food Emergency Response Network on Tuesday with its 100 laboratories, which will help with the analysis of samples of foods typically consumed with tomatoes.

The Salmonella outbreak began in mid- April and continues with dozens of people getting infected each day. The FDA’s recommendations regarding tomatoes are still in effect, being available on its Web site at www.fda.gov.

While health authorities are trying to figure out where it all began, many tomatoes growers and shoppers have expressed their anger after having their businesses hurt.

Moreover, if the outbreak proves to have other source than tomatoes, the government food safety system will face criticism now more than ever. Tom Nassif, president and chief executive of Western Growers said growers might ask for financial relief from Congress if tomatoes proved Salmonella-free.