With the addition of the Mexican state of Coahuila to the list of cleared states on the Center for Disease Controls list of approved retailers, evidence is pointing away from Mexico as a source of the contamination for the recent salmonella outbreak.
Mexico is the major source of tomatoes for US consumption during the winter months. Mexico’s agriculture ministry said Friday that a two-week study of Mexican tomatoes by its specialists — conducted in tandem with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — has found the tomato crop to be free of infection.
Salmonella Saintpaul is a strain of bacteria carried in the intestinal tracks of birds and animals and can be destroyed by washing or cooking of raw veggies.
Now, for lack of further evidence of tomatoes as the source of infection, authorities have turned to jalapenos, serrano peppers, bulb onions and celantro as possible sources of the infection. All items grown in Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Mexico is the largest grower and consumer of tomatoes in North America. Most tomatoes crops are of the green house variety grown under controlled conditions. Many farms are owned by American Farming Corporations. [ DOWNLOAD USDA REPORT ON MEXICO GREENHOUSE TOMATO INDUSTRY ]
It is ironic, that being the number one consumer of tomatoes in North America, there have been no reported cases of Salmonella Saintpaul in Mexico. My family buys fresh Roma tomatoes at Soriana, HEB or the new Wal-Mart in Nuevo Laredo. We eat in restaurants in Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Reynosa on a weekly basis with no ill effects.
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