The Food and Drug Administration has now issued a stronger warning for consumers to avoid fresh jalapenos.

Salmonella was found on a single jalapeno pepper at a produce distribution center in McAllen, Texas. The FDA is warning consumers not to consume raw jalapenos or food prepared with them. Cooked or pickled peppers are safe to eat.

Authorities still don’t know where the pepper became tainted — on the farm, or in the McAllen, Texas, plant, or at some point along the way, such as a packing house.

For now, the government is strengthening its earlier precaution against hot peppers to a full-scale warning that no one should eat fresh jalapenos — or products such as fresh salsa made from them — until it can better determine where the tainted ones may have come from.

Tomatoes currently on the market, as reported earlier this week, have now been given a clean bill of health from the FDA.

Here is a list of what’s safe to eat and what’s not, according to the FDA:

Tomatoes: Safe to eat.

Serrano Peppers: Infants, the elderly and anyone at risk of severe infection should avoid them.

Jalapeño Peppers: Do not consume them raw, and avoid foods prepared with them. Cooked/Pickled Peppers are safe.

To help prevent food poisoning, the FDA recommends that you keep your food refrigerated, wash cutting boards/utensils with hot water and soap and also keep produce separate from raw meats and seafood.
Since April, more than 1,200 people have been infected with salmonella, and 229 have been hospitalized, according to the FDA.