Although the source of salmonella outbreak in the US has not been found yet, on Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration revoked its warning given two months ago which said certain kinds of tomatoes are not safe to eat.

The reason beyond this decision is that no evidence of Salmonella Saintpaul was found in any of the tomato samples that had been tested by the health officials. On June 7, the FDA officials warned that fresh Roma, red plum and vineless red round tomatoes could be the source of the outbreak.

“Tomatoes that are currently on the market in the US are safe to consume,” David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection at the FDA told Reuters in the conference call.

At the same time, the FDA warned those at high risk of getting infected, (those who are young, elderly or have weak immune systems) to stay away from fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers, as the latest scientific detective work points to them as source of Salmonella Saintpaul. If these peppers continue to be involved in the outbreak, this means that salsa, which contains fresh peppers, is also on the unsafe list.

The FDA officials are currently working with Mexican officials to solve the mystery around peppers, as it is believed that peppers packed from a producer in Mexico are beyond the outbreak. The FDA has already dispatched inspectors in Mexico to analyze samples from there.

Although the warning on tomatoes was canceled, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not absolved them as a possible cause of the outbreak together with peppers.

“It is clear to us tomatoes do not explain all of the clusters, do not explain all of the cases…and jalapeno peppers themselves also not explain all the clusters and all the cases,” Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of foodborne bacterial and mycotic diseases at the CDC said.

The FDA’s decision to lift the tomato warning followed a week of lobbying by tomato growers in the US and Mexico.

“We encourage CDC and FDA to complete their investigation of peppers quickly so that either the problem can be identified or, if not, these products can be cleared as well,” Amy Philpott, a representative for the United Fresh Produce Association said.

It was estimated that tomato-related industry losses have added up to about $250 million. Hopefully, the pepper problem will be given a solution sooner and such losses will be avoided.

The way the FDA has handled the salmonella probe brought it criticism from Mexican authorities. According to Reuters, Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry, Mr. Marco Antonio Sifuentes said the FDA “are not handling this right and as the agriculture ministry we are asking for a serious and responsible investigation – not sending out communiqués without proof or scientific analysis.”

Some 1,220 people in the US and Canada have been sickened since April by Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon strain of the bacterium and new reports of contaminated people continue to come although the outbreak appears to be easing after hitting a plateau between late May and mid-June, according to the CDC. Tauxe said there are reported between 20 to 30 new cases each day. Some 224 victims needed hospitalization because their cases were serious.

Five infected persons are from Canada; four of them appear to have been infected while travelling in the US, and one individual remains under investigation.