En Español
Send Us Feedback

Health NewsHealth News

News Video

Find, view and share videos about news and entertainment from around the Web.
See Videos »
most

POPULAR

stories

News Alerts

The latest updates sent straight to your inbox.

Get AOL News Alerts »

FDA Says It's OK to Eat Tomatoes Again

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
,
AP
posted: 42 DAYS 17 HOURS AGO
comments: 248
filed under: Health News, National News
PrintShare
Text SizeAAA
WASHINGTON (July 17) - It's OK to eat all kinds of tomatoes again, the U.S. government declared Thursday — lifting its salmonella warning on the summer favorites amid signs that the record outbreak, while not over, may finally be slowing.
Hot peppers still get a caution: The people most at risk of salmonella — including the elderly and people with weak immune systems — should avoid fresh jalapenos and serranos, and any dishes that may contain them such as fresh salsa, federal health officials advised.

A Break in the Salmonella Probe

Serrano peppers, added July 30Mark Reis, Colorado Springs Gazette / MCT

Federal health officials said Wednesday they have had an important break in the hunt for the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. The same strain has been found in serrano peppers and in irrigation water at a farm in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. "We have a smoking gun, it appears," said one official.

1 of 4PHOTOS

AOL News

X | Close
Investigators still don't know what caused the salmonella outbreak, which now has sickened 1,220 people in 42 states — the earliest falling ill on April 10 and the latest so far on July 4.
But Thursday's move, coming as the tomato industry estimates its losses at more than $100 million, doesn't mean that tomatoes harvested in the spring are cleared. It just means that the tomatoes in fields and stores today are safe to eat, said Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief.
"This is not saying that anybody was absolved," Acheson said. But, "as of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may now enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available without concern of becoming infected with salmonella Saintpaul," the outbreak strain.
Early on, there was good evidence linking certain raw tomatoes to the sick, Acheson stressed. Yet inspectors haven't found the outbreak strain of salmonella Saintpaul on any farms, in suspect areas of south Florida and parts of Mexico, where they've managed to trace tomatoes thought to have been eaten by patients.
As the outbreak stretched into last month, more evidence emerged against fresh jalapenos — the FDA's hottest lead for now. The agency sent inspectors to a Mexican packing house that supplied peppers linked to a cluster of those illnesses.
Also still on the suspect list is fresh cilantro.
There are signs that the outbreak is slowing, said Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC charted the dates when the ill say they fell sick. Between April and mid-May, illnesses steadily rose. Between May 20 and June 10, the outbreak hit a plateau, with about 33 people a day becoming ill. From June 11 to June 20, that dropped to 19 people a day becoming ill.
Those are the latest available statistics, because it can take two weeks or longer for the CDC to receive confirmation that someone who is sick actually has the implicated salmonella strain.
For every salmonella case the CDC confirms, it estimates there are 30 to 40 more that go undocumented, perhaps because people don't see a doctor or undergo the right testing.
How could two different types of produce be contaminated with what is a rare type of salmonella?
One possibility is that a large farm grew tomatoes in one section and peppers in another, and both went through a common washing station with contaminated water, Acheson said.
"Bear in mind this is not following the trail of a regular old produce outbreak," he said. "There's something else going on here that is a little unusual. You need to think outside the box."
The tomato industry — which held an unprecedented meeting with FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach and other officials on Monday — welcomed the announcement.
"We have long been confident that Florida's tomatoes were not associated with the salmonella Saintpaul outbreak," said the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, whose farmers are deciding whether to start planting for a fall tomato harvest. "Tomatoes from Florida's growing regions have been gone from the marketplace for weeks, so they could not have been the source of the contamination."
In Monday's meeting, the industry urged FDA to share more details of its investigation so producers could offer more possibly helpful information. If the sick were more likely to fall ill from chain restaurants than mom-and-pop establishments, for instance, the industry could help point FDA toward different lines of suppliers, explained Kathy Means of the Produce Marketing Association. The FDA promised to consider the request.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-07-17 16:44:53
Related Article
  1. Click Here to See Related Articles and Blog Posts
GOOD READ?
217 votes
(248)
Sort by:

1 - 10

Redhoodsix

02:21 AMAug 13 2008

SOMETHING SMELLS FISHY HERE

AVG RATING:
(0)

Cntry connection

04:07 PMJul 23 2008

Its not the tomatos and not the peppers, probably the beef again..

AVG RATING:
(0)

DLPEARCE7377

06:03 PMJul 18 2008

Bormanathome - Your post is still there. So is my repsonse. Read it.

AVG RATING:
(0)

DLPEARCE7377

06:01 PMJul 18 2008

OlBiker 1951 - Just thought of something else. Farm Laborers don't get paid by the hr. except to start. They get paid by production. Many make 20 bucks an hr. The 5.75 is only for those that can't make production. It's the least you can make.

AVG RATING:
(0)

Bormanathome

06:01 PMJul 18 2008

WELL ...THERE'S MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT. AOL.DIDN'T DELETE IT. SORRY FOLKS - BUT THAT CODE IS STILL AN IRRITANT!

AVG RATING:
(0)

Bormanathome

05:58 PMJul 18 2008

I'LL BE DAMNED!!! AOL DELETED MY COMPLAINT ABOUT THAT STUPID CODE THAT HAS TO BE ENTERED WITH EACH AND EVERY POST. WHERE WERE THEY WHEN PAGES AND PAGES OF ADVERTISING FOR GAS AND GROCERIES WERE DRIVING EVERYONE CRAZY??? THE CODE ISN'T NECESSARY - THIS ISN'T HIGH SECURITY!

AVG RATING:
(0)

VAJimJ

05:57 PMJul 18 2008

It's the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

AVG RATING:
(0)

DLPEARCE7377

05:46 PMJul 18 2008

OlBiker 1951- Been there, done that. For 4 years while in Highschool. However, looks like they given them a raise. I got 2.75.

AVG RATING:
(0)

KamaArte

05:46 PMJul 18 2008

Hope nobody dared starting to eat tomatoes without the government permission! Be afraid, live with fear and listen to your government. You are just robots.I never stopped eating tomatoes, I was not the only one. What a bunch of nonsense!!!

AVG RATING:
(0)

DLPEARCE7377

05:42 PMJul 18 2008

Bormanathome - In order to make a post, you are required to make a mental task by copying the characters. SPAMBOT- Can't do that. Thus why we aren't getting spammed and can use the boards again.

AVG RATING:
(0)

1 - 10 of 248

{ JOIN the CONVERSATION }

YOU'LL BE ASKED TO REGISTER OR LOGIN BEFORE POSTING A COMMENT.

News Makers

NewsmakersOh, how he's changed from his Jackson 5 days. The King of Pop turns 50.1 of 8

News Makers

Health News Quiz

Orange juice Chicago Tribune / MCT

Do some fruit juices impact the potency of drugs?

TAKE QUIZ



* Want the latest Hot Seat polls delivered to your Vista desktop? Hot Seat Vista Gadget »

Top Photos

Top PhotosMichael Sohn, AP

Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev, left, and U.S. boxer John Ruiz face off in Berlin, Friday. Click through the gallery and vote on your favorite photos.

More Photos

Star Bloggers

Ada Calhoun
Dinesh D'Souza
Mo Rocca
The Young Turks

News From Trusted AOL Partners