Personal Injury Law

Marler Clark Client Helps Crack Salmonella Saintpaul Jalapeno Case

By Bill Marler, Esq.

I was on the phone with our client discussing the status of the state of Colorado's test on their jalapeno's, when I received this press release from the state:

State Laboratory Confirms First Human Case of Salmonella from Jalapeno

DENVER - The Laboratory Services Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has confirmed that a jalapeno pepper provided by an ill individual from Montezuma County has tested positive with the same DNA pattern of Salmonella Saintpaul-the strain that has caused a large, multistate outbreak of salmonella.

The pepper was purchased at a local Wal-Mart, likely on June 24, and the individual became ill on July 4. This is the first pepper linked directly to an ill person in this outbreak.

The state health department is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the origin of the pepper.

On Friday, the FDA advised consumers that all fresh jalapeno and serrano peppers grown in the United States are not associated with the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak. However, jalapeno and serrano peppers grown outside of the United States should be eaten only if they have been processed or canned. They should not be eaten raw.

This advisory was based on evidence gathered during a multiweek, intensive investigation conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the FDA and several states to find the source of the contamination that led to the outbreak.

State health officials advised consumers who are going to purchase jalapeno or serrano peppers to first ask their grocer’s manager where their peppers were grown.

The CDC reports that since April 1,304 people have been infected with a strain of Salmonella Saintpaul having the same genetic fingerprint. Cases have been identified in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, with 16 confirmed cases reported in Colorado-Adams (2); Denver (2); Douglas (1); El Paso (3); Montezuma (2); Otero (2); Pueblo (3); Weld (1).

I'm glad a Marler Clark client could be of service.  Perhaps what all of us should do is what smart condo dwellers (with south facing verandas) do in Seattle - grow your own:

Full post as published by Marler Blog on July 28, 2008 (boomark / email).