Thread: BREAKING: Salmonella outbreak tied to irrigation water

Salmonella outbreak tied to irrigation water
CDC says it has found 'smoking gun' that led to 1,300 people falling ill

The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.

"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acheson said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno pepper to a farm in another part of Mexico.

Acheson and other officials were grilled at a congressional hearing about why the investigation originally focused on tomatoes.

The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.

The outbreak has sickened more than 1,300 people since April.

Tomatoes had been the prime suspect in the nationwide outbreak for weeks. But last week, the FDA said only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico were implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak. The FDA said then it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.

If it turns out the tainted irrigation water was also used on tomatoes, it could provide some of the evidence that federal authorities are looking for to back their original focus on the fruit.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25935332/

The irrigation water was likely raw sewer water.

BOYCOTT MEXICAN PRODUCE OR PRODUCE "PACKAGED" IN MEXICO....BUY LOCAL WHEREVER AND WHENEVER POSSIBLE AND INSIST THAT YOUR LOCAL GROCER START CARRYING LOCAL PRODUCE INSTEAD.

BREAKING NEWS: Salmonella Saintpaul Found in Irrigation Water on Mexican Pepper Farm

Dr. David Acheson, who is the top food safety official at the Food and Drug Administration, has just told the House panel that they have found likely source of Salmonella saintpaul, which has eluded countless officials for weeks.

"We have a positive sample in water used for irrigation and serrano peppers from the same farm that have matched outbreak strain," he said.

Acheson says the FDA is now changing its warning to include Mexican Serrano peppers. The agency says consumers should now stop eating raw serrano peppers.

Dr. Lonnie King of the Centers for Disease Control is testifying after Acheson who, after the bomb he just dropped, officially makes him the Toughest Act to Follow of the day.

"We have a smoking gun it appears," King said.


The committee is now taking a break for a vote. I'll update again shortly.

(For those of you who would prefer to watch the hearing yourselves, you can find a link for it at the House Agriculture Committee's website.: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/schedule.html )

FDA finds salmonella strain at second Mexican farm
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR | Associated Press Writer • Published July 30, 2008

The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday.

Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.

"We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acheson said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno pepper to a farm in another part of Mexico.

Acheson and other officials were grilled at a congressional hearing about why the investigation originally focused on tomatoes.

The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.

The outbreak has sickened more than 1,300 people since April.

Tomatoes had been the prime suspect in the nationwide outbreak for weeks. But last week, the FDA said only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico were implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak. The FDA said then it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.

If it turns out the tainted irrigation water was also used on tomatoes, it could provide some of the evidence that federal authorities are looking for to back their original focus on the fruit.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASINGTON (AP) - Federal health officials say the salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm.

Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, is calling the finding a key breakthrough in the case.

Acheson said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno to a farm in another part of Mexico.

Acheson and other officials were grilled Wednesday at a congressional hearing about why the investigation originally focused on tomatoes.

The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.
http://www.theolympian.com/nationworld/ ... 25281.html

FDA: Don't eat serrano peppers from Mexico because of salmonella risk



Serrano peppers at a farm in Mexico were found to be contaminated with the same strain of Salmonella that has sickened more than 1,300 people across the USA, the Food and Drug Administration says, according to news agencies.

Bloomberg News and the Associated Press say federal investigators found the bacteria in irrigation water at the farm. As a result, officials say consumers shouldn't eat serrano peppers from Mexico.

"We have a positive sample in water used for irrigation and serrano peppers from the same farm that have matched outbreak strain," Dr. David Acheson, the agency's chief of food safety, tells Congress, according to The Washington Post.

The FDA has been looking into the possibility that the contamination was carried into the United States by tomatoes, serrano peppers and jalapeño peppers.

CDC has more about the outbreak.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/20 ... -trac.html

The workers probably thought the irrigation ditch was a toilet.

Originally Posted by judyweller

The workers probably thought the irrigation ditch was a toilet.

Its NASTY! But its PROBABLY true. They have awful sewage systems. The tap water is the same water that runs into the sewers. The only difference is a few "filters" that are supposed to clean the water. EWW! The fanciest purification system you could buy for your home couldnt clean Mexico's water.

This is why everyone needs to BOYCOTT ALL FOOD PRODUCTS FROM MEXICO!

Oh, but the government of Mexico ASSURED us that their produce was safe - they SAID SO! No, no no - it's not from us, it's from somewhere else... riiiiiggghht!
/end sarcasm

Who can the families and persons affected by this food poisoning sue anyway?

You can't drink the Mexican water for a reason, yet it took the FDA 4 months to figure this one out?