The FDA Issues Jalapenos Recall

First come tomatoes, now come jalapenos. The Food and Drug Administration announced earlier today that the salmonella bacteria responsible for causing food poisoning has been found in jalapeno pepper grown in Mexico. According to MSNBC, the peppers came from a single Mexican grower and were packaged by a small Texas produce shipping company called Agricola Zaragosa. This is all authority seems to be able to know for now, as details of where the jalapenos were contaminated are not really known; was it from the Mexican farm, or the shipper's plant, or where? No one knows for now.

All consumers are supposed to know is that they should not consume foods prepared with fresh jalapenos. Salsas, salads, sandwiches, or anything with such pepper should not be eaten since it is not clear how far the little Texas shipper's peppers have gone into the United States. There seems to be no clear knowledge of where Agricola Zaragosa, the small plant shipping the peppers, had distributed the produce so no particular locale has been singled out.

This has got to be frustrating for people. Even though the government has cleared the tomato recall that had affected and gotten hundreds of people sick in the past months, I am still not comfortable with buying fresh tomatoes. I even recently had a food poisoning from a source I can't figure myself, so I am extra cautious about fresh produce for now.

What can people do to avoid all the mayhem that seems to interrupt their eating habit and purchasing choices? I don't really know the answer to that question. But I know that what I'm doing is to cook whatever I am going to eat thoroughly before eating it. For peppers and tomatoes, I am just going to abstain from anything fresh, unless it is grown in my own backyard. I will give it a good few months before trying again.