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On Thursday, federal health officials finally lifted the 40
day-old warning with regard to tomatoes, that has caused industry losses of about
$250 million. Up to this point, investigators have analyzed more than 1,700
samples (soil, water and tomatoes) from packing sheds, storage warehouses and
harvest fields; the bacteria’s presence was not confirmed.
The Food and Drug Administration is still working alongside
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to find the source of
the largest salmonella outbreak in the past ten years. Now that tomatoes have been cleared, the
remaining suspicious vegetable is the jalapeño pepper.
As the tests performed by the government are getting
increasingly rigorous, the pepper imports from Mexico
are slowing down. As tests take quite a long time, entire stocks of peppers rot
in warehouses before they can be released on the market. Several companies have
temporarily suspended their pepper-based businesses. Last week, investigators
advised the most vulnerable citizens, the young and the old, to avoid eating
jalapeños and serrano peppers.
Since April, when the situation began, no less than 1,220
people in the US and Canada have reported Salmonella saintpaul-related
illnesses. However, this is not the final balance, as new cases are still being
brought up.
All the types of tomatoes previously considered to be
potentially dangerous (fresh Roma, red plum and vineless red round tomatoes)
will now find their way back to the market. According to David Acheson, a top
FDA food safety official, the tomatoes will be provided by farms that haven’t
harvested in April.
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