tagged w/ Salmonella
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"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Investigators had a "significant break" in tracking the salmonella outbreak when they found the bacteria on a jalapeño pepper imported from Mexico at a Texas food supplier, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday.
The FDA also warned consumers not to eat fresh jalapeños and products made with fresh jalapeños.
The discovery may provide a clue to the source of a recent outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul. The bacteria have sickened more than 1,200 people in 42 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"One of the jalapeño peppers has tested positive with a genetic match to the Saintpaul strand," said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases.
He said officials are "looking at the chain that the peppers would have passed through to decide if any of them are a point of contamination."
Tauxe called the discovery a "significant break."
"While this one sample does not give us the whole story, this genetic break is very important," he said. "This will hopefully help us pinpoint the source of this outbreak."
The bacteria were found at a distribution center in McAllen, Texas, and the distributor has agreed to recall the products. Although the pepper was grown on a farm in Mexico, Tauxe said, investigators are not yet certain where the bacteria originated.
"This does not mean that the pepper was contaminated in Mexico," he said. "We aren't only looking for the source, but the reason for the spread [of the outbreak]."
The news comes just days after the FDA lifted its ban on consumption of certain raw tomatoes. The FDA has not ruled out tomatoes as the source of the original outbreak, but investigators have determined that tomatoes currently in fields and stores are safe, Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's associate commissioner for food protection, said Thursday. Learn about the differences between salmonella and E. coli »
The FDA is still investigating fresh tomatoes as a possible source of the outbreak. It is possible that tomatoes were paired with another food that was contaminated, Tauxe said.
Before Monday's warning, the agency had discouraged high-risk people -- elderly people, infants and those with impaired immune systems -- from eating serrano and jalapeño peppers.
Two elderly men with pre-existing conditions died while infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, and the FDA said the infection could have contributed to their deaths."
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Investigators had a "significant break" in... more
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found a jalapeno pepper contaminated with a strain of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,200 people, officials said on Monday.
The pepper, which showed up at a south Texas distribution facility, originated in Mexico, the FDA said.
"FDA has found a genetically matched Salmonella saintpaul isolate from a distribution center called Agricola Zaragosa in McAllen, Texas," Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the FDA, told reporters in a telephone briefing.
Acheson said it is not yet clear where the pepper was contaminated and said it could have been anywhere between the farm where it was picked and the facility in Texas.
-ReutersThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found a jalapeno pepper contaminated with a... more
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According to the FDA it is now permissible to eat all kinds of tomatoes. The recent salmonella outbreak has been contained in the tomato industry, however jalapenos and serranos are still at risk for infecting people with salmonella. The elderly and those with weak immune systems are encouraged to stay away from any hot peppers.According to the FDA it is now permissible to eat all kinds of tomatoes. The recent... more
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Yes Yummy tomatoes are back on the menu, so says the FDA... Do you trust them?
"It's OK to eat all kinds of tomatoes again, the U.S. government declared Thursday — lifting its salmonella warning on the summer favorites amid signs that the record outbreak, while not over, may finally be slowing.
Hot peppers still get a caution: The people most at risk of salmonella — including the elderly and people with weak immune systems — should avoid fresh jalapenos and serranos, and any dishes that may contain them such as fresh salsa, federal health officials advised."
"The tomato industry — which held an unprecedented meeting with FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach and other officials on Monday — welcomed the announcement.
"We have long been confident that Florida's tomatoes were not associated with the salmonella Saintpaul outbreak," said the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, whose farmers are deciding whether to start planting for a fall tomato harvest. "Tomatoes from Florida's growing regions have been gone from the marketplace for weeks, so they could not have been the source of the contamination."
REMEMBER: Play it safe people, Jalapenos and cilantro are still suspect.Yes Yummy tomatoes are back on the menu, so says the FDA... Do you trust them?... more
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Infection toll at 1,017; health officials add hot peppers and cilantro as suspect foods, along with tomatoes
WEDNESDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- The number of people sickened in the ongoing salmonella outbreak has now surpassed 1,000, and while certain types of tomatoes remain the suspected cause, U.S. health officials on Wednesday added hot peppers and cilantro as potential suspects as well.
"We continue to get new reported cases every day," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of foodborne, bacterial and mycotic diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a late-afternoon teleconference. "This is the largest food-borne outbreak in the United States."
Since the outbreak began in April, 1,017 people in 41 states, the District of Columbia and Canada have fallen ill, and at least 203 people have been hospitalized. One death -- a Texas man in his 80s -- has been associated with the outbreak. Also, a man in his 60s who died in Texas from cancer had a Salmonella Saintpaul infection at the time of his death, the CDC reported Wednesday on its Web site.
In addition, according to the CDC, 300 of those people became ill after June 1.
An initial investigation of the outbreak, in New Mexico and Texas, suggested raw tomatoes as the likely source of the contamination. But a larger, nationwide study comparing persons who were ill in June found that those who were sickened were likely to have recently eaten raw tomatoes, as well as fresh jalapeno and serrano peppers, and fresh cilantro. These foods are typically consumed together, the CDC said.
Recently, many clusters of illnesses have been identified involving people who had eaten in restaurants. In one cluster, illnesses were linked to consumption of an item containing fresh tomatoes and fresh jalapeno peppers. In another two clusters, illnesses were linked to a food item containing fresh jalapeno peppers, leading federal officials to believe that jalapeno peppers caused some of the reported illnesses, the CDC said.
Infection toll at 1,017; health officials add hot peppers and cilantro as suspect... more
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Investigators are seeing more signs that the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes might have been caused by tainted jalapeno peppers and have begun collecting samples from restaurants and from the homes of those who have been sickened, according to health officials involved in the probe.Investigators are seeing more signs that the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes... more
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July 1, 2008 -- Move over, tomatoes, the FDA now has other produce items on its list of suspects in the salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 869 people -- including 107 who have been hospitalized -- in 36 states and Washington, D.C.
But FDA officials aren't letting tomatoes off the hook -- and they refuse to say what other types of produce they're probing, except that those items are often served with tomatoes.
Tomatoes continue to be the lead suspect in the salmonella investigation, notes David Acheson, MD, the FDA's associate commissioner for foods.
Tomatoes are "our major focus," says Acheson, adding that the FDA has asked labs across the U.S. to help run tests on domestic and imported produce to find the salmonella source.
The CDC is also questioning people with salmonella infection and their healthy friends and relatives to find out if those unnamed produce items might be to blame.
Meanwhile, the government's advice to consumers hasn't changed -- for now.
A recap of that advice: Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold on the vine, and homegrown tomatoes are in the clear, along with red Roma, red plum, and red round tomatoes grown and harvested in certain states and countries listed on the FDA's web site.
July 1, 2008 -- Move over, tomatoes, the FDA now has other produce items on its list... more
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In a response to the salmonella outbreak caused by Mexican tomatoes, the FDA is stationing inspectors in Asia and Latin America to help prevent the importation of tainted foods to the US. Is the FDA going too far? I don't see other countries stationing officials to check our exports.In a response to the salmonella outbreak caused by Mexican tomatoes, the FDA is... more
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From Rodale Institute comes this very interesting article describing new methods for potential salmonella contamination in the industrial 'food' web.From Rodale Institute comes this very interesting article describing new methods for... more
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Fast food restaurants and grocery stores are pulling tomatoes from their shelves and menus.
Due to a salmonella outbreak, the FDA has advised grocery stores and restaurants to not serve / sale "raw red Roma, raw red plum, and raw red round tomatoes grown in certain U.S. states and other nations..."
Over 145 cases of salmonella have been reported, with 23 hospitalizations.
The safe list of tomatoes include: cherry and the grape variety and ones sold on the vine.
Fast food restaurants and grocery stores are pulling tomatoes from their shelves and... more
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"McDonald' s Corp. said Monday it has temporarily pulled tomatoes from its sandwiches in in the United States, a precautionary move in the wake of a salmonella outbreak.
Since mid-April, 145 people in at least 16 states have been infected with the bacteria known as Salmonella Saintpaul, which has been linked to raw tomatoes. The bulk of the cases have been in Texas and New Mexico, and 23 of them have required hospitalization."
"McDonald' s Corp. said Monday it has temporarily pulled tomatoes from its... more
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Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has spread to 16 states, federal health officials said Saturday.
Investigations by the Texas and New Mexico Departments of Health and the U.S. Indian Health Service have tied 56 cases in Texas and 55 in New Mexico to raw, uncooked, tomatoes.
"We're seeing a steady increase," Deborah Busemeyer, New Mexico Department of Health communications director, said Saturday.
An additional 50 people have been sickened by the same Salmonella "Saintpaul" infection in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.Salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has spread to 16 states,... more
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"An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.
Lab tests have confirmed 40 illnesses in Texas and New Mexico as the same type of salmonella, right down to the genetic fingerprint. An investigation by Texas and New Mexico health authorities and the Indian Health Service tied those cases to uncooked, raw, large tomatoes.""An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has... more
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An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.
A salmonell outbreak in the Southwestern U.S. has been tied to large varieties of tomatoes.
Lab tests have confirmed 40 illnesses in Texas and New Mexico as the same type of salmonella, right down to the genetic fingerprint.
An investigation by Texas and New Mexico health authorities and the Indian Health Service tied those cases to uncooked large tomatoes.
At least 17 people in Texas and New Mexico have been hospitalized. None have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thirty people have become sick with the same Salmonella Saintpaul infection in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana. CDC investigators are looking into whether tomatoes were culprits there, too.
In Texas and New Mexico, raw large tomatoes -- including Roma and red round tomatoes -- were found to be a common factor in the 40 illnesses. But no farm, distributor or grocery chain has been identified as the main source, said Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist working on the investigation.
"The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation," she said.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.
Many people recover without treatment. However, severe infection and even death are possible. Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe infections.
In Texas and New Mexico, the patients ranged in age from 3 to 82. Of the 40 patients, 38 were interviewed. Most said they ate raw tomatoes from either stores or restaurants before becoming ill between April 23 and May 27.
Another 17 cases are under investigation in New Mexico, CDC officials said. An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now... more
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Nearly 150 people in a dozen states are sick due to salmonella from fozen chicken and turkey pot pies. Both Banquet and generic brand pot pies are potentially contaminated - if you have any in your freezer, check for P-9 printed on the side of the box as part of a code above the use-by date. Or, just chuck them all in the trash, if you want to be safe...
Con Agra, the parent company, says the pies are safe if cooked properly, but I don't know if I'd want to take that risk, would you?Nearly 150 people in a dozen states are sick due to salmonella from fozen chicken and... more
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Tori
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added this
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4 years ago
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A new study shows that bacteria becomes more deadly in space. Scientists took a bunch of salmonella, most likely to be responsible for your case of food poisoning, on a September 2006 space trip. When given to mice upon return, they were 3 times more likely to get sick, and croaked faster than from normal salmonella.
Sounds like a good case for making sure astronauts are in uber-perfect health before blasting off into orbit!A new study shows that bacteria becomes more deadly in space. Scientists took a bunch... more
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Tori
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added this
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4 years ago
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