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Tomatoes Off the Menu as Feds Search for Source

Outbreak of salmonella-tained tomatoes sickens at least 167

June 12, 2008

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Plum, Roma and round tomatoes continue to disappear from restaurants and grocery shelves as 167 people have been reported ill from eating salmonella-tainted tomatoes. The outbreak has been documented in at least 17 states so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which is still getting reports of people falling ill.

Meanwhile, investigators appear no closer to pinpointing the cause of the outbreak, though the area of suspicion is falling on Mexico and the southwestern U.S. Public Health officials in Texas told reporters Wednesday they are investigating one death that is possibly linked to tainted tomatoes.

The CDC says that since mid-April, 167 persons infected with the somewhat rare Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 17 states: Arizona (12 persons), California (2), Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (27), Indiana (7), Kansas (5), Michigan (2), New Mexico (39), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (3), Texas (56), Utah (1), Virginia (2), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (3).

These were identified because clinical laboratories in all states send Salmonella strains from ill persons to their State public health laboratory for characterization.

Among the 73 persons who have been interviewed, illnesses began between April 16 and May 27, 2008. Patients range in age from 1 to 82 years; 49 percent are female. At least 23 persons were hospitalized.

Consumers, meanwhile, express some confusion about the recall, since not all kinds of tomatoes are affected, and only those tomatoes grown in certain states and countries are suspect.

FDA has published a list of areas where tomatoes ARE NOT linked to the outbreak. The FDA says the list will be updated on an ongoing basis.

Critics take aim at FDA

The Food and Drug Administration deserves any rotten tomatoes thrown its way in the wake of the latest food safety scare, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

All of this is unnecessary, as CSPI attorney Sarah Klein sees it.

"Since 2006, CSPI has been urging FDA to require all farms that feed the American public to have written food safety plans, but the FDA has not done that," Klein said. "Instead, the agency and the Bush Administration rely on voluntary, and obviously ineffective, industry programs.

The result is yet another produce outbreak sickening consumers and dealing another setback to another important industry, which includes many growers who have implemented food safety measures, Klein said.

"Consumers can't afford to risk their health by eating tainted produce, and they can't afford the blow to their wallets when FDA tells them to throw out what may actually be safe food because the agency can't figure out the precise source of the contamination," she said.

Klein said trying to track down contamination after the fact isn't getting the job done.

"Without food safety plans, on-farm inspections, and effective traceback systems, all consumers can do is cross their fingers and hope that the food they eat is safe," she said. "Even now, with 145 people in 16 states sick, FDA can't tell consumers whether the contaminated tomatoes were domestically produced or imported. The agency needs to overhaul its food safety system, and it needs to do it now."

Klein said that since 1990, more than 3,000 Americans have gotten sick from tomatoes contaminated in 24 known outbreaks. And she said those numbers don't take into account what must be countless unidentified tomato-related outbreaks.

"How many more consumers have to get sick before FDA gets serious about produce safety?" Klein asked.

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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