Tomato Salmonella: BLT's or just BL Sandwiches?

Washington, DCFood scares are almost becoming commonplace. Last year it was spinach and seafood, peanut butter and pet food. The recent tomato salmonella outbreak may have more cause for concern because more than two months after the first reported case, the source of the outbreak has not yet been found.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported approximately 800 cases of Salmonella St. Paul, of which more than 10 percent of those cases have been hospitalized and possibly one death of a Texas cancer patient—making this salmonella outbreak the largest the CDC has reported.

(In 1985, milk was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 16,000 people, but those cases weren't all confirmed by lab tests, unlike the reports in this salmonella tomato outbreak.)

The FDA narrowed its investigation down to Mexico and Florida, where experts collected samples of tomatoes and conducted traceback activities. It is also conducting traceback activities in Texas, where many illnesses have been reported. But at a news conference on June 20th, the FDA said they might never find the source.

Now, the FDA is widening its scope to include items that include raw tomatoes, such as guacamole and salsa. It is looking at warehouses and packing plants as well as farms.

David Acheson, MD, the FDA's associate commissioner for foods, explained that tomatoes are hard to trace—where they have been and where the contamination may have occurred—because of a practice called "repacking". Suppliers and/or distributors get specific requests from their customers and repack various boxes of tomatoes from different sources: one box might comprise Roma tomatoes from California, a beefsteak variety from Florida, cherry tomatoes from Mexico—safe and unsafe…

Meanwhile, countless boxes of tomatoes have ended up in the garbage as restaurants pulled tomatoes from their menus, affecting their bottom line. Many eateries nationwide are serving tomatoes again but some varieties are still off-limits. Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold while still on the vine, and homegrown tomatoes (from anywhere) are still on the "safe list".

The FDA website has an extensive list of areas where raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw red round tomatoes are grown and harvested that have not been associated with the outbreak.

The agency advises consumers to do the following:

- Refrigerate tomatoes within two hours or discard cut, peeled, or cooked tomatoes.
- Avoid purchasing bruised or damaged tomatoes and discard any that appear spoiled.
- Thoroughly wash all tomatoes under running water.
- Keep tomatoes that will be consumed raw separate from raw meats, raw seafood, and raw produce items.
- Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot water and soap when switching between types of food products.