The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alleges that the Salmonella outbreak is over. There were no recorded cases after August 11th, which means that the bacteria's spread has probably ceased. However, questions still remain about the source and government's erratic handling of the crisis.

A lot of restaurants as well as tomato producers have rushed to blame the agencies for scaring people away from the products they sell. After FDA’s announcements that tomatoes could be the cause of the Salmonella outbreak, many people stopped buying the vegetable, which resulted in a more than $100 million loss for the industry. So far, all the tomatoes that have been tested for the bacteria proved to be negative.

Subsequently, the government said that jalapeño and raw serrano peppers were to blame and imposed Salmonella tests whose results took too long, and the vegetables were spoiled in warehouses while waiting for the green light to reach customers. Testing took several days, while importers waited as long as ten days for test results, and had to destroy the stock because it was rotten.

The disease produced by the Salmonella bacteria is called salmonellosis and for most of the infected people is known to cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. The illness generally lasts four to seven days and people normally choose to tough it out without a treatment.