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Florida Tomatoes Rejected Over Scare
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Published: June 10, 2008
TAMPA - Retailers turned away truckloads of Florida-grown tomatoes Monday after a salmonella outbreak sickened 145 people in 16 states, state officials said.
As Florida's tomato growers lost money, restaurant chains such as McDonald's, Burger King and Panera Bread stopped putting sliced tomatoes on their hamburgers and salads. Taco Bell stopped using diced tomatoes in its tacos and Chipotle Mexican Grill stopped using tomato salsa in its burritos.
"We've instructed our cafes to only serve the tomatoes from sources deemed safe by the FDA," said Panera Bread spokeswoman Linn Parrish.
Denver-based Chipotle posted an advisory to its customers on its Web site.
"Even though our tomato salsa is completely safe," the chain said, "we have suspended serving it in all of our restaurants as long as there remains any concern about the tomato supply in this country."
Late Monday, Florida was not on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's list of safe tomato-producing states - those not linked to the outbreak. Although Florida tomatoes haven't been ruled out as the source of the salmonella outbreak, state agriculture officials say Florida-grown tomatoes are safe to eat and are awaiting clearance from the FDA.
"We know Florida's tomatoes are OK," said Liz Compton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. "The problem is, they haven't officially cleared us yet, and we are having trucks turned away."
The outbreak is jeopardizing about $40 million worth of Florida-grown tomatoes. If the FDA doesn't clear Florida soon, the full value of those tomatoes may never be realized, said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, an industry cooperative.
"Tomatoes turn red every day, and we have ceased harvesting tomatoes," Brown said. "You can't go without harvesting tomatoes very long before they're no longer harvestable."
It's unlikely that Florida could be the source of the outbreak, Brown said.
"The outbreak appears to be predominantly a Western based outbreak, and Florida is predominantly an Eastern supply system," he said.
In Florida, tomatoes represent a $500 million to $600 million-a-year industry.
The outbreak is linked to red plum, red Roma and red round tomatoes harvested before April 15.
"What we know is that the tomatoes that we're shipping now were not being harvested at the time in question," Compton said.
FDA officials say it still is safe to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, those still attached to the vine and tomatoes from Canada.
Tampa-based Sweetbay Supermarkets and Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets have pulled all of the suspect tomatoes from their shelves.
Both retailers, though, still are selling tomatoes deemed safe by the FDA.
"If you go into Publix, you will see tomatoes on the shelf," said spokeswoman Shannon Patten. "There are still several varieties of tomatoes still available."
Patten said Publix warehouses have stopped receiving red round and red plum tomatoes from Florida growers.
McDonald's, the world's largest hamburger chain, has stopped serving sliced tomatoes on all of its sandwiches in the United States as a precaution until the source of the salmonella is known.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said the fast-food chain will continue to serve grape tomatoes in its salads because no problems have been linked to that variety.
Salmonella is a potentially fatal infection. The young, elderly or anyone with a weakened immune system is susceptible to the food-borne illness. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
No deaths have been linked to this outbreak, and none of the reported cases is in Florida. The 145 cases linked to the outbreak have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
The FDA is trying to locate the source of the outbreak. The federal agency has ruled out tomatoes from California, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Hawaii.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Russell Ray can be reached at (813) 259-7870 or rray@tampatrib.com.
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