I'll Have a Burger but hold the Salmonella Tomato

Rockville, MDOn June 9, 2008 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a nationwide warning that a salmonellosis outbreak has been linked to certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these three kinds of tomatoes.

The FDA advises consumers, retailers and restaurateurs to only eat, sell and/or serve cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and of course, tomatoes grown in your own backyard.

As well, the FDA's website has provided consumers with an updated list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes have been grown and harvested and are not associated with this outbreak, including Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. Consumers can check with their place of purchase to find out where the tomatoes came from and some tomatoes have stickers on them indicating where they were grown.

More than 145 cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported nationwide since mid April. This particular type of Salmonella is uncommon and has so far put at least 23 individuals in hospital. Salmonella is one of the most common of the intestinal infections with an estimated 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis occuring each year in the US, of which 95 per cent of those cases are foodborne-related.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, and typically show up within 12 to 72 hours of infection. Illness usually lasts four to seven days. Serious complications are more likely in infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, but healthy persons can also experience the same symptoms. In rare circumstances, the organism can get into the bloodstream and produce more severe illnesses.

According to the FDA, this is the 13th outbreak in the past decade where raw or fresh-cut tomatoes have been linked to salmonella infections. A total of 1,840 people were sickened by foodborne illness tied to tomatoes, but that is only counting individuals who reported their illness. All Salmonella infections should be reported to state or local health authorities, but not everyone is notified of outbreaks and often, people chalk it up to a bad case of the flu.

Outbreaks of Salmonella are often caused by shoddy and unsafe agricultural practices: salmonella infections occur when the bacteria are ingested, generally from food that comes from infected food-animals, but it can also occur by ingesting the feces of an infected animal or person. Last year, the FDA worked with tomato growers in Florida and Virginia (where earlier outbreaks were traced to) and initiated a multi-year Tomato Safety Initiative to step up certain practices in an attempt to reduce the risk of illness.

A few days ago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that "An epidemiologic investigation conducted by the New Mexico and Texas Departments of Health and the Indian Health Service using interviews comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons has identified consumption of raw tomatoes as the likely source of the illnesses in New Mexico and Texas."

In the wake of this confirmation, major supermarket chains stopped selling the three kinds of tomatoes on the FDA list. Other grocery chains have considered stripping its shelves of all tomatoes. "At first they told us we had to pull everything, but then they narrowed it down," said Justin Peters, produce manager at the Albertsons store in Laguna Beach.

Fast-food chains, including Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. and Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., have also stopped offering tomatoes, including their tomato salsa. And McDonalds has now stopped serving sliced tomatoes on its sandwiches in the US and Canada, at least until the source of the outbreak is known.