The Food and Drug Administration announced on Monday it had finally found a contaminated jalapeño pepper grown in Mexico, carrying a strain of salmonella. The discovery took place at a Texas plant, Agricola Zaragoza, a distributor in McAllen, which suspended sales of fresh jalapenos and recalled the shipments of vegetables since June 30.

In a statement issued by the FDA, it is said that “it is unknown at this time which, if any, of the more than 1,200 illnesses reported to date are related to this particular product or to the grower who supplied this product.” The circulation of these products has been put on hold while health officials continue their investigation as to the source of the outbreak.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of 12 federal agencies responsible for food safety, new cases continue being reported. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, and his coworkers believe that the salmonella outbreak, which sickened more than 1,200 people in 43 states, is far from over.

Consequent to the broadcast of the find, health officials warned that every single consumer should avoid jalapeños, the only varieties of peppers which could be used for consumption being those that have been cooked or pickled.

With a bit of luck, taking into account that the investigators are heading in the right direction, the source of contamination will be identified before the food industry is confronted again with tremendous losses. Until the search is brought to a standstill, people should pay attention to what they include in their meal plans.