Results tagged “salmonella”

Tomatoes are safe again, but now a specific jalapeño (we like to pronounce it "jha-LA-pen-yo," just for kicks) has been identified as contaminated with salmonella. The contaminated pepper was found in a packing plant in Texas. [Trib]

The FDA declared tomatoes safe to eat yesterday, after that serious salmonella outbreak that hit Our Town especially hard. If you're looking to make anything with jalapeno or serrano peppers, however, you're still playing with viral fire.

The Chicago Department of Public Health announced today that nine salmonella cases around Chicago have been linked to tainted tomatoes served at Adobo Grill, both at its Wicker Park and Old Town venues.

With restaurants and fast food chains slowly returning tomatoes to their menus, the Tribune has an interesting profile of David Acheson, the "food safety czar" at the Food and Drug Administration.

• Turning bad to good, the parents of NIU shooting victim Daniel Parmenter planted an oak tree in his memory at the Elmhurst baseball park where he spent his youth. They’ve also created a scholarship to help children attend baseball or umpire training camps.
• Nine of the 17 Chicago victims of tomato-linked salmonella poisoning have been linked to one restaurant. 29 cases have been reported in Illinois, and there are now 23 states dealing with the epidemic. The Department of Public Health is not naming the restaurant at this time, but says the restaurant was shut down for 48 hours.
• In other infectious disease news, last weekend, we told you about the hotel hot tub that linked two people with Legionnaire’s disease. Well this weekend a third person has been linked to the same hot tub.
• Eight people have been killed in and around the city this weekend. The Trib has the tally.
• More rain came today. Flooding continues to rise in the north suburbs. And Iowans are now beginning to refer to their circumstance as “Our Katrina.”

] Apparently previous outbreaks were caused by a grower using pond scum to water their crops, but the FDA has not yet determined the cause of this most recent outbreak.

The Obama camp says by the end of the night, they'll have the 2,118 delegates they need to secure the Democratic nomination. [NYT]