Tomatoes: Are They Really the Cause of the Salmonella Outbreak?
The good news: tomatoes may not be the cause of the salmonella outbreak that began back in April and have since gotten 810 people sick. The bad news: no one is really sure what is.
Tomatoes remain the top suspect and the advice on which ones consumers should avoid hasn't changed, stressed Food and Drug Administration food safety chief Dr. David Acheson.
However, he said it is possible that tomatoes being harvested in states considered safe could be picking up salmonella germs in packing sheds, warehouses or other facilities currently under investigation.
[...] "The source of contamination has been ongoing at least through early June, and we don't have any evidence that whatever the source is, it's been removed from the market," said Dr. Patricia Griffin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Disease detectives at the CDC in Atlanta are doublechecking their own probes just in case some other type of produce is really the culprit.
This really is turning out to be a sad summer for tomato lovers. As always, it sounds like it's best to exercise caution when consuming tomatoes, or buy them from farmers' markets (or eat the ones that you've grown). The FDA is recommending everyone to stay alert, as the outbreak has shown no signs of disappearing completely—the last reported case was on June 15.
Related
How Does Salmonella Get Inside Tomatoes?
Salmonella Scare Hits the Big Time
Salmonella Scare Halts Tomato Sales
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8 Comments:
hahaha oh lovely graphic.
Prairie at 7:41PM on 06/30/08
Man, tomatoes get such a bad rap.
Raphael at 8:26PM on 06/30/08
You can eat your home-grown tomatoes, except if you're in the UK and you've used that nasty fertilizer in your garden. No more home veggies for a year! Yikes!
Cassaendra at 9:04PM on 06/30/08
@Prairie: Glad you like it! Any chance I get to draw a sad, sick looking tomato, I take.
roboppy at 1:42AM on 07/01/08
The whole idea that tomatoes were the actual source of salmonella was iditioc in the first place. I mean, c'mon.
justcook at 9:24AM on 07/01/08
I have started buying all of my produce at local markets, What I cant grow myself.
check out this article on the tomato situation
http://www.foodista.com/2008/06/30/one-sick-tomato/#comments
growitgreen at 10:02AM on 07/01/08
Grow yer own.
simon at 11:34AM on 07/01/08
I've been drinking V8 this whole time????? I wonder if they cook it first????
hungrychristel at 1:59PM on 07/03/08