Salmonella in tomatoes -Summary of the FDA Warning

My mom is a horticulturalist at Utah State University, this morning she emailed me some information from Brian A Nummer, Ph.D. who works for the USU Extension Food Safety Program. Since I share a lot of tomato recipes I thought I would share this.
(Don't say I never told you anything useful!)


Salmonella in tomatoes – U.S.U. Food Safety Program Update

From Brian A. Nummer, Ph.D.

I have just returned from a meeting where I had the opportunity to get an update direct from a US FDA Food Safety Professional on the Salmonella in tomatoes issue.
In addition, a Consumer Warning has been issued.

FDALink to FDA warning: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01848.html

Here’s a summary of the Consumer FDA Warning

DO NOT EAT: FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below.

SAFE TO EAT: Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.


When the unsafe variety of tomato origin is known, those grown in 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 are safe to eat raw.

This list will be updated as more growing regions are eliminated as the potential source http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html#retailers.

Fully cooked tomatoes of any variety are safe to eat.

Consumers who have recently eaten raw tomatoes or foods containing raw tomatoes and are experiencing these symptoms should contact their health care provider: fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Since mid April, there have been 145 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saint Paul nationwide, including at least 23 hospitalizations. States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. The FDA is continuing to trace this outbreak back to its source.

Most tomato-associated outbreaks over the past ten years have been traced to product originating from Virginia and Florida; however outbreaks have also been traced to Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, and California. Once the source is narrowed, assessment of a variety of environmental factors including irrigation water, wells, procedures for mixing chemicals, drought and flooding events, and animal proximity to growing fields will also be conducted looking for the cause of the contamination.


My cousin Kristin got the Peter Pan Peanut butter Salmonella 2 years ago at Christmas & she was so sick. (Although she said she lost some weight...kidding Salmonella is serious!) If you feel sick please contact your doctor.