Local eateries not affected by raw jalapeño, cilantro warning
by Tom Stauffer on Jul. 12, 2008, under Body, Local, Special, TasteFor the last four months, tomatoes were all we were warned to worry about, and only certain tomatoes at that.
But with federal health officials struggling to confirm the sources of what has become the largest foodborne outbreak in more than a decade, the list of suspects now includes pretty much everything in fresh salsa and pico de gallo save the onions.
The latest advisory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the salmonella saintpaul outbreak that has infected at least 1,090 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, has added fresh cilantro and raw jalapeño and serrano peppers to the watch list.
As serious and confounding as the outbreak has been, it hasn’t stopped local restaurants from offering fresh salsa and pico de gallo. That’s because a mechanism for ensuring salmonella-free produce is in place, said Juan Orozco, co-owner of Chile Relleno Burritos, 2433 S. Fourth Ave.
“The reason we’ve been able to keep serving all our fresh salsas is because the produce suppliers have to show the distributors a card saying that whatever they’re selling is salmonella-free and coming from regions that have not been associated with the outbreak,” said Orozco. “What’s changed for me is that in the past, if I had a guy come in who wanted to sell me a box of tomatoes and they were good quality, I might buy them. Now, if they can’t show me the same letter my distributor does, I’m not buying.”
At La Fuente Restaurant, 1749 N. Oracle Road, food comes in from several different distributors, but all of them guarantee that their produce is from safe sources, said manager Sandra Balbastro.
“Other than making sure the food has been certified, nothing has changed here,” Balbastro said. “We’re not hearing anything from customers as far as concerns, and we’re going through as much salsa and guacamole as we always have.”
In a conference call Wednesday, CDC’s Robert Tauxe advised that persons with increased risk of severe infection avoid eating raw jalapeño peppers, raw serrano peppers and fresh cilantro, and that there had been no changes to the existing consumer guidelines regarding raw tomatoes.
While early investigations pointed to consumption or raw tomatoes rather than salsa, recent investigations of clusters of infected people point toward peppers and possibly cilantro, said Tauxe, deputy director with the Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases.
“The illness in those clusters is strongly associated with jalapeños, but we are aware of other clusters in which it is very difficult to implicate or even suggest jalapeños were part of it because they were simply not on the menu,” he said. “We are presuming that both of them (jalapeños and tomatoes) have caused illness.”
No particular cases can be traced to eating raw serranos, but because they look similar to jalapeños, they have been added to the list for people who might confuse the two. Serranos are thinner, but are similar in color and size.
As for tomatoes, the list of states that produce tomatoes deemed safe for consumption now includes all but six: Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming.
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States reporting the most cases of Salmonella Saintpaul
State Cases
Texas 408
Illinois 104
New Mexico 99
Arizona 49
Virginia 31
Source: National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (ZVED)
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Preparation Tips for Fresh Produce
• Begin with clean hands. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.
• Many precut, bagged produce items like lettuce are pre-washed. If so, it will be stated on the packaging. This pre-washed, bagged produce can be used without further washing.
• As an extra measure of caution, wash the produce again just before you use it. Precut or prewashed produce in open bags should be washed before using.
• Cut away any damaged or bruised areas on fresh fruits and vegetables before preparing and/or eating. Produce that looks rotten should be discarded.
• All produce should be thoroughly washed before eating. This includes produce grown conventionally or organically at home, or produce that is purchased from a grocery store or farmer’s market. Wash fruits and vegetables under running water just before eating, cutting or cooking.
• Even if you plan to peel the produce before eating, it is still important to wash it first.
• Washing fruits and vegetables with soap or detergent or using commercial produce washes is not recommended.
• Scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers, with a clean produce brush.
• Drying produce with a clean cloth towel or paper towel may further reduce bacteria that may be present.
Source: FDA
