The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared Thursday that raw tomatoes in fields and stores are safe to eat.

However, the federal agency did not lift its warning that raw hot peppers may infect the elderly and those with weak immune system with salmonella.

The advisory came as FDA inspectors did not find any strain of salmonella Saintpaul in south Florida and Mexico tomato farms suspected as the source of the food poisoning outbreak that sickened 1,220 people from April 10 to July 4.

FDA investigators are now focusing on fresh jalapenos and serranos coming from a Mexican packing house.