FDA: Avoid jalapenos from Mexico, not US

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFyDyMJjsAW0XxBNGpIldKhhToOgD9253CA00

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is narrowing its warning to hot pepper lovers, saying only Mexican-grown jalapenos now are linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak — clearing the U.S. crop.

Food and Drug Administration inspectors are on a large Mexican farm that grew a pepper discovered in a Texas warehouse that was tainted with the same strain of the bacteria. They're trying to determine where that farm distributed its peppers, to see if it harvested enough to be responsible for an outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,300 people and counting.

Tomatoes were an initial suspect and health officials still haven't exonerated them from causing illnesses when the outbreak first began in April. But those on the market now are safe to eat.