We want to share the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory on the salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes. At press time, the source has not been identified, and we have no idea whether organic tomatoes are involved.
Preliminary data suggest raw red plum (bottom photo), raw red Roma or raw round red tomatoes (top photo) are the cause. The FDA is warning consumers to limit their consumption to tomatoes that have not been implicated in the outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home.
The FDA recommends consuming raw red plum, raw red Roma or raw red round tomatoes only if grown and harvested from the following areas not associated with the outbreak: Alabama, Arkansas,
California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York,
Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia,
Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico.
If you have already purchased tomatoes and aren’t sure where they’re from, contact the store or place of purchase for this information.
Also be advised that raw tomatoes are often found in fresh salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, tortilla fillings and other dishes. Restaurants, grocery stores and food service operators have been advised to cease selling or serving raw red plum, Roma or red tomatoes, as well as products made from them (unless they are from one of the areas listed above).
We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.
Photos courtesy of the FDA
A Bad Week for TomatoesJune 10th, 2008 - Barbara Feiner12 Responses to “A Bad Week for Tomatoes”Leave a Reply |
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