October 7, 2008
- Pasco, Washington
Salmonella Scare Hits Mexican Restaurants
By Rudabeh Shahbazi
KENNEWICK-- The Fed just announced the number of people across the country sick from salmonella has risen to nearly a thousand.
The government is still looking at certain types of tomatoes as the main culprit, but now the FDA has extended that list to serranos, jalapeno peppers and cilantro-- all key ingredients in Mexican dishes. "This is the first time we're kind of worried about all the stuff going on," said Flora Mendoza, the manager of El Chapala restaurant. She's been in the business for more than a decade, but says she's never seen a scare like this. Farmers had to abandon entire crops, and like thousands of other restaurants, El Chapala was required to pull tomatoes off the menu temporarily. The US tomato industry took a hundred-million dollar hit as a result. El Chapala was cleared to start using tomatoes again, but Mendoza says customers are still weary, and that could hurt their bottom line. "Raw tomatoes, they don't want it," said Mendoza. "The tacos have tomatoes, they say, 'no tomatoes.' Nachos, 'no tomatoes.' Everything, they want no tomatoes." Now other staple ingredients in Mexican food are on the list, too. In fact, jalapenos, serranos, cilantro and tomatoes are crucial to the recipe that has won El Chapala the best salsa in the Tri-Cities award every year, a trademark they can only hope will stay popular. "We need all the fresh ingredients to make everything," said Mendoza. "Salsa is the most important thing we have in a Mexican restaurant. Almost everything needs to have salsa in it to make a better taste." Patrons Cleve and Charlene Parker said they never stopped eating tomatoes, and the salmonella scare probably won't stop them from eating anything else, either. "We have pretty good sources for our vegetables," said Charlene Parker. "I think we're OK." More than 130 people have been hospitalized so far, including cases in Washington and Oregon. |
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