That hot, tangy crunch of a fresh jalapeno pepper might be out of reach for the time being.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says jalapenos that passed through a distribution center in McAllen, Texas, may be to blame for a salmonella outbreak. The agency says raw jalapeno and serrano peppers should not be sold or served and should be discarded.
Many Rome area grocery stores and restaurants have stopped offering fresh jalapenos but may still offer pickled ones.
Piggly Wiggly on Martha Berry Highway, Kroger on Turner McCall Boulevard, the East Rome Wal-Mart Supercenter and Super Kmart Center are all offering only pickled jalapenos.
“At this time the pull is temporary until further notice,” said Glynn Jenkins, director of communications and public relations for the Atlanta division of the Kroger grocery store chain.
Chili’s Bar and Grill on Turner McCall Boulevard was still selling fresh jalapenos on Thursday because they come from certified sources, said Manager Donavan Murphy.
Moe’s Southwest Grill on Shorter Avenue was offering pickled jalapenos only, along with Las Palmas and Taco Bell.
“Our jalapenos are pickled and packaged. They are not connected to the raw jalapenos the CDC is investigating,” said Rob Poetsch, director of public relations for Taco Bell.
For now, the government is strengthening its earlier precaution against hot peppers to a full-blown warning that no one should eat fresh jalapenos — or products such as fresh salsa made from them — until it can better pinpoint where tainted ones may have been sold. Click here to see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site about the outbreak.
On Monday, the Texas-based grocery chain H-E-B announced a voluntary recall of products containing fresh jalapenos after government inspectors found a strain of salmonella on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno pepper handled in Texas.
The government is warning against eating fresh jalapenos or products made from them while it continues to investigate a nationwide salmonella outbreak initially linked to tomatoes.
The Texas distributor, Agricola Zaragoza, suspended sales of fresh jalapenos and recalled those shipped since June 30.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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