Salmonella outbreak: FDA looks at tomatoes, serrano, jalapeno peppers, cilantro Chicago Tribune wire reports 12:17 PM CDT, July 6, 2008 The government on Saturday increased to 943 the number of people reported being sickened in a record salmonella outbreak, in which tomatoes are the leading suspect. The Food and Drug Administration also said it had begun looking at serrano and jalapeno peppers and cilantro —ingredients used to make salsa—as possible causes of the outbreak. Tomatoes continue to be investigated as well, spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said. The 943 reported cases are nationwide, requiring at least 130 hospitalizations since mid-April after the first salmonella illnesses appeared, the FDA said Saturday. That compares with 922 cases two days earlier and 869 reported in the previous week. There have been 225 cases reported since June 1—evidence that the source likely has not been contained. On Tuesday, the government said it would test other kinds of fresh produce commonly served with fresh tomatoes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Glen Nowak said the agency's scientists are working around the clock in an effort to pinpoint the source of the outbreak. They have interviewed some of those sickened in the 40 affected states to compare what they had eaten. FDA inspectors are collecting soil, water and produce samples; reviewing export logs; and combing packing plants in three major tomato-growing states in Mexico. A team of three FDA inspectors has gone through five farms in the western states of Jalisco and Sinaloa in the past two weeks. The investigation crew also plans to visit the northern state of Coahuila. The U.S. tomato industry has taken a $100 million hit as restaurants temporarily dropped tomatoes from their menus, and farmers have had to plow under their fields or leave crops to rot in packinghouses. Mexico has not calculated its losses.