After three months of trying to locate the cause of the Salmonella outbreak, investigators have identified the source of bacteria in irrigation water and serrano peppers on a farm in Mexico. More than 1,300 people have fallen ill from the bacteria.
According to the
Washington Post, the source of the Salmonella saintpaul strain has been identified in irrigation water and serrano peppers on a farm in Mexico.
The farm where the contaminated water was found grows only jalapeno and Serrano peppers. It supplied a packing facility in Mexico that also did business with Agricola Zaragosa, the McAllen, Tex., distributor where FDA inspectors found tainted jalapeno peppers last week. The farm and the packing facility are located in Nuevo Leon, a state in northeastern Mexico.
The FDA is warning consumers to avoid raw serranos grown and packaged in Mexico.
Several questions have been raised as to why it took investigators so long to turn their focus from the tomatoes to the peppers. However, finding the bacteria in irrigation water as well as in jalapeno peppers and serrano peppers validates the
FDA and CDC's claims that the strain could be in more than one type of produce. There is still some belief that tomatoes might have been involved.
Investigators are still trying to find where produce from the contaminated farm have been shipped. They are also waiting on test results from produce tested from another farm in Mexico that supplied the Agricola Zaragosa with produce. Investigators found contaminated produce there last week but might be caused by cross contamination from a distribution center.
Since April, the problem has consumed nearly all fifty states, the District of Columbia and Canada with over 1,300 people who have fallen ill as a result.
The Source Of the Largest Foodborne Illness Outbreak In Ten Years Has Been Found
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