U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors have found samples of Salmonella Saintpaul bacteria at a farm in Mexico that produces serrano peppers. Dr. David Acheson made the announcement during a July 30 congressional hearing on the handling of the ongoing Salmonella outbreak. The bacteria was found in samples of peppers and irrigation water on the farm. The Saintpaul strain is the same one that has caused more than 1,300 people across the United States and parts of Canada to become ill.

At the same hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, former FFVA Chairman Tony DiMare testified about the stringent safety procedures, third-party audits and other measures Florida tomato producers incorporate. DiMare urged federal officials to exonerate all tomatoes originating from Florida from the list of possible causes of illness.

In addition to the July 30 hearing, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Energy and Commerce Committee, held a hearing July 31 during which Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, and Ed Beckman, president of California Tomato Farmers, expressed support for responsible nationwide food safety legislation modeled after programs in their states.

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Palm Beach Gardens) has introduced a bill to compensate tomato growers and packers for the $100 million in losses they incurred by tomatoes being implicated as a cause of the outbreak.

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