How Does Salmonella Get Inside Tomatoes?
This summer season is off to a bleak, tomato-less start with the recent salmonella outbreak in certain types of raw red tomatoes. Serious Eater Butrflygirly asked, "Couldn't this be avoided by proper washing? If you wash/clean something properly, all should be good. Right?"
Actually, it wouldn't be as bad if all we had to worry about was fecal matter getting on tomatoes. Although there are a number of ways that salmonella can be transmitted from feces to produce, the surface contaminants are killed in a chlorine bath when tomatoes are delivered to a packing plant.
Of course, this doesn't do much good if the salmonella is inside the tomato, which can occur if there are cuts or scars on the skin, or through a permeable scar where the stem was attached, according to the United Fresh Produce Association. However, researchers are stumped on how just a few infected tomatoes could cause an outbreak of this size. Sounds like that for the time being, it's probably best to steer clear of raw red plum, Roma, and round tomatoes. [via Gourmet]
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
8 Comments:
This is so sad.
Tomatoes are one of my favorite Summertime foods. I look forward to tomato season. I guess I'll only buy from the farm stand down the road this summer.
Thank you for this information. I have been wondering about this for a couple of days now.
Brownie at 4:30PM on 06/13/08
This surprises me, given that tomatoes are so acidic. It's enough to hot-pack them when canning because the acid keeps botulism and other baddies at bay. But what do I know?
I just hope we're not going to have to cook tomatoes of unknown origin to 170F from now on. Our industrial agriculture system has got to go.
kurteye at 7:14PM on 06/13/08
Or you could just sensibly continue to eat tomatoes grown in non-suspected areas, following the FDA's guidelines concerning infants, the infirm, and the elderly.
If you should come down with salmonella, go out and by a lottery ticket because you're on a roll, and can beat astronomical odds!
And throw the baby out with the bathwater while you're at if.
srhcb at 9:06PM on 06/13/08
Beating astronomical odds once does not make it easier to be astronomical odds again. In fact, 1/astronomical times 1/astronomical is 1 in astronomical squared. Which is clearly much harder that just 1 in astronomical. Of if you prefer using concrete numbers, let's say getting salmonella is 1/20. And then winning the lottery is also 1/20. Coming down with salmonella and then winning the lottery is 1/400. Not getting salmonella and winning the lottery is 19/400. That's 19 times more likely to win the lottery without getting salmonella.
wunami at 11:03PM on 06/13/08
That is really scary I love tomatoes along with my family one of us could have gotten sick.
Kayla at 12:38PM on 06/14/08
@kurteye - from what I've read one of the issues is related to how most beef cows live. Because we feed them corn, rather than their naturally preferred grasses, the acidity of their collective stomachs increases which in turn creates e. coli and salmonella that can tolerate higher acidity levels. This is a big problem because the bacteria in grass feed cows can't live in our acidic stomachs so we are naturally protected from this accidental cross contamination, however, the bacteria in industrial cows is quite happy in more acidic environments like us.
I'm right there with you on industrial farming. We are a smart, amazing species but our hubris gets in the way and we think we can improve upon nature...
christopher at 11:08AM on 06/15/08
Plant your own garden! Go organic!
With only grassfed organic raised livestock to used for fertilizer. I have read/heard that the chances or slim to none for contamination.
I know, it's expensive. You have to pick and choose what's better organic and not.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12942.cfm
highimamy at 4:39PM on 06/16/08
It's more than just hand washing. I recently wrote an article explaining why we have salmonella in our tomatoes.
Planting your own organic garden is always a good idea.
Lane
VeganBits at 10:45AM on 06/17/08