WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Investigators had a `` significant break '' in tracking the salmonella outbreak when they found the bacteria on a jalapeño pepper imported from Mexico at a Texas food supplier , the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday . The FDA has discouraged all consumers from eating raw jalapeño peppers . The FDA also warned consumers not to eat fresh jalapeños and products made with fresh jalapeños . The discovery may provide a clue to the source of a recent outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul . The bacteria have sickened more than 1,200 people in 42 states , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . `` One of the jalapeño peppers has tested positive with a genetic match to the Saintpaul strand , '' said Robert Tauxe , deputy director of the CDC 's Division of Foodborne , Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases . Consumer Tips Blog : Hold the jalapeños He said officials are `` looking at the chain that the peppers would have passed through to decide if any of them are a point of contamination . '' Watch more on the salmonella outbreak » Tauxe called the discovery a `` significant break . '' `` While this one sample does not give us the whole story , this genetic break is very important , '' he said . `` This will hopefully help us pinpoint the source of this outbreak . '' The bacteria were found at a distribution center in McAllen , Texas , and the distributor has agreed to recall the products . Although the pepper was grown on a farm in Mexico , Tauxe said , investigators are not yet certain where the bacteria originated . Read food safety tips » `` This does not mean that the pepper was contaminated in Mexico , '' he said . `` We are n't only looking for the source , but the reason for the spread [ of the outbreak ] . '' The news comes just days after the FDA lifted its ban on consumption of certain raw tomatoes . The FDA has not ruled out tomatoes as the source of the original outbreak , but investigators have determined that tomatoes currently in fields and stores are safe , Dr. David Acheson , the FDA 's associate commissioner for food protection , said Thursday . Learn about the differences between salmonella and E. coli » The FDA is still investigating fresh tomatoes as a possible source of the outbreak . It is possible that tomatoes were paired with another food that was contaminated , Tauxe said . Watch more on the FDA investigation » Before Monday 's warning , the agency had discouraged high-risk people -- elderly people , infants and those with impaired immune systems -- from eating serrano and jalapeño peppers . Two elderly men with pre-existing conditions died while infected with Salmonella Saintpaul , and the FDA said the infection could have contributed to their deaths .
NEW : Discovery called a `` significant break '' in outbreak investigation . Strain is Salmonella Saintpaul , which has sickened hundreds recently . The strain was first identified last year and the CDC said it had been found at several restaurants across the country. Pepper grown in Mexico , but origin of bacteria uncertain . Bacteria were found at distribution center in McAllen , Texas .