Let My Salsa Be: Salmonella Taints Serrano Chilies
First you attacked my ‘maters, then my cilantro (my favorite herb), and then my jalapenos. I decided to use canned tomatoes and grow my own cilantro. As for the japs, I like serrano chilies just as much, so there. Or so I thought, then I read the latest from the FDA and your little salmonella bomb has hit them, too. OK, Al Qaeda, now it’s personal. I’m growing my own chilies as well. Thank you AeroGarden! But remember Al Qaeda, the next time I catch you walking through my neighborhood, your getting an old fashioned Alabama butt whoopin’.
Serrano peppers from Mexico farm have salmonella, FDA Says
WASHINGTON — The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said today.
Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety chief, called the finding a key breakthrough in the case, as did another health official.
“We have a smoking gun, it appears,” said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Acheson said the farm is in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Previously, the FDA had traced a contaminated jalapeno pepper to a farm in another part of Mexico.
Acheson and other officials were grilled at a congressional hearing about why the investigation originally focused on tomatoes.
The officials insisted that tomatoes still cannot be ruled out and that it is quite possible that the outbreak was caused by several different kinds of contaminated produce.
The outbreak has sickened more than 1,300 people since April.
Tomatoes had been the prime suspect in the nationwide outbreak for weeks. But last week, the FDA said only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico were implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak. The FDA said then it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.
If it turns out the tainted irrigation water was also used on tomatoes, it could provide some of the evidence that federal authorities are looking for to back their original focus on the fruit.
Bennigan’s shuts down 800 locations
From the Chicago Sun Times:
‘I’M GOING TO MISS THIS PLACE’ | Employees, customers of national chain stunned after company closes restaurants, files for bankruptcy
Bennigan’s restaurants throughout the nation were closed Tuesday, surprising employees and customers.
The Irish themed chain and its sister company Steak & Ale on Tuesday filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the Eastern District of Texas.
(STNG)
The chain’s parent, Plano, Texas-based Metromedia Restaurant Group, seeks to liquidate its assets and shut down, citing $550 million in assets and about $150 million in debt.
It’s not the end for all Bennigan’s stores though. Independent franchisees will continue to operate some restaurants.
Bennigan’s has about 300 Irish-theme locations, with about 80 to 100 franchisees.
In June, privately-held Metromedia Restaurant said it had no plans to file for bankruptcy.
Stores, including two on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, had notices posted on the closures Tuesday.
A sign at the Bennigan’s at 145 S. Weber Road in the Country Aire Plaza in Bolingbrook read, “I regret to inform you that Benningan’s is no longer part of your community,” one Sun-Times reader reported.” Another note on the door said:
“To all our employees: I must say this is the hardest thing we have ever had to do. It’s not only a job we are losing but a family we have here is not replaceable. Thank you for all the hard work, total dedication and commitment to making this place amazing. Love, Jen, Ronda and Jonathon.”
Managers of Bennigan’s restaurants in Calumet City, Deerfield and North Michigan Avenue told Newsradio 780 that they were told this morning of the restaurants’ closings, and one manager said the shutdown is nationwide.
Contributing: Francine Knowles, business reporter; wire reports
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