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Restaurants Shun Tomatoes In Wake Of Salmonella Outbreak

Source of contaminated tomatoes isn't known

June 10, 2008

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McDonalds customers had better like their burgers without tomatoes. The fast food giant has temporarily suspended the use of tomatoes in the wake of the Food and Drug Administration's warning of a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

Chipotle Mexican Grill said it has temporarily halted sales of its tomato salsa. Wal-Mart directed stores in New Mexico, Texas and other locations to remove certain types of tomatoes and said it would make refunds to customers who purchased the affected tomatoes. Winn-Dixie said it was also removing potentially affected tomatoes from its stores.

The FDA has advised consumers to avoid red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries. McDonalds and some of its competitors are taking no chances, suspending use of all sliced tomatoes. McDonalds is still using small grape tomatoes on salads.

The source of the outbreak, which has sickened nearly 150 consumers and sent 23 people to the hospital, has not been determined. Heath officials at FDA and the Centers for Disease Control are jointly investigating.

Meanwhile, the CDC reports only three people were infected with this particular strain of salmonella in the U.S. all last year. That previous rarity of this strain and the distribution of illnesses in all U.S. regions suggest, the CDC says, that the implicated tomatoes are distributed throughout much of the country. That would suggest that they came from a large grower.

Finding the source

The spinach E. coli outbreak of 2006 came from farms in California. Though never definitively solved, investigators believe the spinach was rinsed with contaminated water.

Some published reports say that Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia have been the target of an ongoing FDA "tomato safety initiative."

FDA says the source of the contaminated tomatoes may be limited to a single grower or packer or tomatoes from a specific geographic area. The agency also notes that there are many tomato crops across the country and in foreign countries that are just becoming ready for harvest or will become ready in the coming months.

On June 5, FDA published a list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes are grown and harvested which have not been associated with this outbreak.

This updated list includes: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. Tomatoes from any of these areas are thought to be safe.

Because of inherent delays in reporting and because many persons with Salmonella illness do not have a stool specimen tested, it is likely many more illnesses have occurred than those reported, the CDC said. Some of these unreported illnesses may be in states that are not on the current map, meaning the outbreak could be more widespread.

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. Salmonella Saintpaul is an uncommon type of Salmonella.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections particularly in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems.

Healthy persons often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, the organism can get into the bloodstream and produce more severe illnesses.

Consumers who have recently eaten raw tomatoes or foods containing raw tomatoes and are experiencing any of these symptoms should contact their health care provider. All Salmonella infections should be reported to state or local health authorities.

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