Jalapeno peppers may pack salmonella punch
When it comes to the disastrous digestive disorders caused by salmonella Saintpaul – and their mysterious origin — perhaps we should have known from the start that tomatoes might not be the bad apples.
Tomatoes, after all, are soft and juicy and seem relatively harmless, even if they have been used historically – especially as rotten tomatoes – to hurl at performers whose acts bombed.
But jalapenos? Those veggies can vex even in the best of circumstances, and certainly not everyone should eat them. Tasty as jalapenos can be, not even all bona fide, card-carrying, iron-stomached Texans raised on Tex-Mex food are immune from their indigestive powers.And sure enough, it seems some jalapeno peppers have packed a double whammy not only as hot to the taste and hard on the stomach, but as carriers of salmonella Saintpaul. That’s the strain of bacterium that’s sickened thousands of Americans in recent months, when the only upside for the afflicted was a rapid weight-loss program.
Yes, after weeks of waffling on the outbreak’s source while largely blaming raw tomatoes, the Food and Drug Administration on Monday has reported a “very important break in the case” by announcing it had traced salmonella to a Mexican-grown jalapeno which was found in a Texas plant.
Of course, as with tomatoes, even this doesn’t mean jalapenos are the culprits. The pesky pepper in question could have been contaminated elsewhere than in the Mexican farm where it was grown. It could have come in contact with another source which harbored the sinister salmonella.
The FDA even goes on to say that, despite lifting its warning on raw tomatoes, it still cautions everyone – especially the elderly and small children, who have less immunity defenses – about eating raw tomatoes sold earlier this summer.
So let’s regroup and rethink. If you must eat tomatoes, eat them, but know that you’re safest by having them hot, since cooking kills salmonella.
As for jalapenos – well, let’s not be hasty. They are, after all, the staff of life. I mean, how can you not love jalapenos, which never met a nacho they didn’t like?
Then again, let’s be smart, and keep in mind that any tasty temptation can be treacherous. And that even includes our little green friends, the jalapenos. They just may be salmonella’s pipeline into the food supply.
Sure, it could be that jalapenoes mixed with tomatoes at Mexican-food restaurants were the way this outbreak spread. Or it could be that the source still hasn’t been properly identified. Even the FDA, so far, still doesn’t know, though lately it’s been trumpeting news announcements and breaks in the case as if it’s really onto something.
Between runs to the bathroom, apparently some folks were so fed up with suspicious food that they demanded answers. And tomato growers were weary of losing millions of dollars in uneaten crops. So the FDA gave us answers – sort of. Yet the mystery remains, and those answers have only raised more questions.
Eventually, a food poisoning lawyer may be the answer.
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