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WASHINGTON — The government on Saturday increased the number of people reported being sickened in a salmonella outbreak in which tomatoes are the leading suspect, although investigators are testing other types of fresh produce.

There have been 943 reported cases nationwide, with at least 130 hospitalizations since mid-April after the first salmonella illnesses appeared, the Food and Drug Administration said Saturday. That compares with a total of 922 people about two days ago and 869 reported earlier in the past week.

So far Texas is by far the leader in reported illnesses, with 356 reports of ill people as of late Friday. New Mexico has 98 reported illnesses, while Illinois has 93.

The FDA also said it had begun looking at jalapeno peppers as a possible cause of the outbreak, as well as ingredients used to make salsa, such as cilantro and serrano peppers. Tomatoes continue to be investigated as well, spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said.

On Tuesday, the government said it would test numerous other kinds of fresh produce commonly served with fresh tomatoes while insisting that tomatoes remained the most likely culprit.

CNN reported that the U.S. investigation is focusing on imports from Mexico, and that starting Monday inspectors will stop shipments of produce commonly used as ingredients in Mexican cuisine.

A team of three FDA inspectors has gone through five farms in the western Mexico states of Jalisco and Sinaloa in the past two weeks, looking at all aspects of tomato production: the greenhouses where they are grown, the packing plants where they are shut into boxes and the shipping methods for the trip north to the U.S.

They also plan to visit the northern state of Coahuila to finish up their study.

Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have interviewed people sickened in June to find out what they ate and to compare their diets with those of healthy relatives and neighbors. Officials so far have not revealed early findings, except to say they supported the investigation's new move.

The results can't come too soon for the three Mexican states that were targeted by the FDA, along with farms in Texas and Florida.

Officials have said some patients have told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention they ate raw tomatoes in fresh salsa and guacamole.

CDC spokesman Glen Nowak said Saturday that the agency's scientists are working around the clock to try to pinpoint the source of the outbreak but are not ready to single out anything. Salsa ingredients, including peppers, are among the items being tested, Nowak said. "We don't rank the items we're looking at."