FDA: <em>Salmonella</em> Found in Irrigation Water at Mexican Farm

WASHINGTON — A salmonella outbreak in the United States and Canada has been linked to irrigation water and serrano peppers at a Mexican farm, the federal Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's food safety chief, said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and called the discovery "a key breakthrough."

Acheson was speaking at a congressional hearing.

Serrano peppers are a variety of chili pepper similar to jalapeños but hotter.

The salmonella outbreak, which has sickened more than 1,200 people since April, had been linked to raw Mexican jalapeños and serranos. Last week, the Mexican government had called an FDA advisory saying so "premature."

The people made sick by a strain called Salmonella Saintpaul were found in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. At least 242 have been hospitalized, although federal health officials say only the elderly, infants and people with weakened immune system need to avoid raw peppers from Mexico.

Acheson was speaking Wednesday at a hearing intended to find out why the outbreak was originally linked by the government to tomatoes. Acheson has said that the science that suggested tomatoes may be to blame was strong and that the possibility some were contaminated still hasn't been ruled out.

Source: CNN