(July 17, 2008)--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Thursday declared it's OK to eat tomatoes again, lifting its salmonella warning in light of signs that the outbreak while not over may finally be slowing.
But officials reiterated earlier warnings that the people most at risk of salmonella should avoid jalapenos and serranos.
High-risk groups include the very young, the elderly and those with impaired immunity systems.
The government still doesn't know just what caused the salmonella outbreak, and Thursday’s move doesn't mean tomatoes are cleared.
Early on, there was good evidence linking them to the sick, but it's unlikely that any field where tomatoes were harvested in April and May still is in production.
Among later illnesses, there seems to be more evidence against peppers.
The FDA is sending inspectors to Mexico to investigate a packinghouse that receives peppers from a number of farms.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has confirmed 456 cases of people infected with salmonella in Texas since the middle of April including seven in Bell County, one in Bosque County, three in Brazos County, four in McLennan County and 10 in Williamson County.
Two people from Texas with salmonellosis have died, DHSH says, but salmonellosis was not the cause of death.
U.S. Food And Drug Administration
Information From Department Of State Health Services
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