WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has declared it's OK to eat tomatoes again, lifting its salmonella warning amid signs that the outbreak, while not over, may finally be slowing.
Officials reiterated earlier warnings that the people most at risk of salmonella should avoid hot peppers -- jalapenos and serranos.
The government still doesn't know what caused the salmonella outbreak, and this latest move doesn't mean tomatoes are cleared.
There was no indication that any of the tainted tomatoes were sold in Canada. However, five Canadians, four of whom had visited the U.S., tested positive for the strain of salmonella responsible for the food poisoning in the U.S.
Early on, there was good evidence linking the tomatoes to the sick, but it's unlikely that any field where tomatoes were harvested in April and May still is in production.
Among later illnesses, there seems to be more evidence against peppers.
The FDA is sending inspectors to Mexico to investigate a packing house that receives peppers from a number of farms.
