Jalapeño peppers may be the new culprit in the ongoing salmonella outbreak.

After announcing tomatoes are in the clear, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has now targeted jalapeño peppers, along with a few others, as a potential carrier of the bacteria.

It's an ongoing flip flop that has locals disgruntled.

Yuliana Cardoso, Buena Vista Grocery in Harrisonburg, says, "I strongly recommend that they shouldn't do this unless they have strong facts that support their allegation."

Harrisonburg resident, Kirsten Szymecki, adds, "They need to make up their mind. Which one has salmonella?"

The new findings are also affecting businesses. The Harrisonburg Five Guys has taken jalapeños completely off their menu.

Store Manager Jose Eraco says, "It's weird, you know, because we have a lot of people that love jalapeño. We have a few customers that get mad, and they don't buy any food at all."

With recent confusion over the exact cause of the outbreak, some locals are skeptical about removing the spicy peppers from their diet.

Harrisonburg resident, Pierre D'Elia, says, "If it was coming from a safe place you could eat some tomatoes, I would think that's the same with jalapeños."

Some businesses agree. They continue to sell the peppers and they say it has not affected their sales.

Cardoso says, "Everybody comes in to take jalapeños all the time. It hasn't affected our business at all."

While the CDC remains uncertain as to what the cause of the outbreak is, they recommend avoiding these peppers until they can pinpoint the main carrier.

Like tomatoes, the CDC emphasizes that peppers are safe to eat when cooked. It is the raw peppers that we find in fresh salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole that should be avoided.

Federal investigators are also checking into the possibility that certain tomatoes and peppers are grown on the same farm. They say even going through the same distribution facility may have linked them in the outbreak.