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Food Sellers, FDA Quick To Pull Tomatoes

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The Associated Press

Published: June 12, 2008

ATLANTA - It's the beginning of the summer, and it's tough to find fresh salsa for chips and tomatoes for burgers.

But experts say supermarkets and fast-food chains that threw out tomatoes suspected in a salmonella outbreak were acting aggressively to protect their customers' health and avoid a consumer backlash.

A federal government that's been sluggish in the past also is being more responsive, consumer advocates said. It hasn't been pretty, however. It's been a little like trying to cut a tomato with a dull knife.

On Tuesday, federal authorities cleared fresh tomatoes being harvested in Florida and all those grown in California, the nation's top two tomato-producing states, of responsibility in the national food poisoning scare, which has sickened 167 people since April.

It's an expensive proposition to toss seemingly edible food, experts said. McDonald's and others had good reason to pull the tomatoes, said Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who for 15 years has specialized in food-contamination cases.

"The dilemma is if they don't recall the tomatoes and someone gets sick, then they're going to really look foolish," he said.

The government was still trying to pinpoint the source of the dangerous bacteria Tuesday.

"It's narrowing down rapidly. We hope that in the next few days we'll be in a position to identify the exact source," U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said while speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

Asked whether the contaminated tomatoes could have come from overseas, he said: "That's one of the possibilities. That's certainly one of the things we're looking at."

The FDA has posted on its Web site states and countries that had safe tomatoes.

U.S. health officials said there were no confirmed salmonella deaths linked to the outbreak, which was reported in at least 17 states. Fewer than 200 people turned up sick.

Some contrasted this produce scare to earlier ones that produced more tepid reactions. In 2006, the last prominent outbreak of salmonella associated with tomatoes, at least 183 illnesses occurred in 21 states. That outbreak was blamed on tomatoes eaten in restaurants, but restaurants didn't stop serving tomatoes back then.

Experts cited a range of possible explanations for the difference, including the FDA's quick and specific action.

"This outbreak, the FDA is clearly making an effort to do better to inform consumers," said Sarah Klein, attorney in the food-safety program for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. "They have been fairly slow in the past."

TOMATO FAQ

Q: Given the current salmonella outbreak, is it still safe to eat tomatoes?

A: Yes, but only certain types. The Food and Drug Administration is tracking the source of the tomato-borne salmonella infections, but has declared cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold on the vine as safe.

Q.: So what types of tomatoes are not safe?

A.: Large round tomatoes (sometimes called beefsteaks) and the egg-shaped ones, called plum tomatoes or Roma tomatoes, traditionally used in sauce.

Q.: What should I do with tomatoes I already have?

A.: If they are of the unsafe types (see above), do not eat them. The market where you bought them might refund your money; otherwise, throw them out.

Q.: What if I plan to cook with them?

A.: The FDA does not recommend cooking tomatoes to prevent illness from this outbreak; the types of tomatoes implicated in this outbreak should not be eaten, period.

Q.: Why are certain varieties safe? Is there something about their genetic makeup that makes them resistant?

A.: No. It all has to do with where the tomato was grown. Certain states and countries specialize in specific types of tomatoes. Until the FDA can pinpoint exactly where the infection occurred, it is advising consumers to avoid the types of tomatoes grown in the areas that have not been ruled out.

Q.: So where are the contaminated tomatoes from?

A.: For now, the FDA has issued a list of places whose tomatoes are safe for consumption. The list includes 19 states, including New York, California and Florida and seven countries, including the Netherlands, Israel and Canada. Conspicuously absent from the list is one major source of tomatoes, Mexico.

Q.: How would a tomato get infected with salmonella?

A.: The culprit is usually water: Crops come into contact with water when they are irrigated, fertilized, washed and processed. If that water came into contact with infected animal feces - not hard to imagine if livestock is being raised nearby - salmonella can pass to crops.

Q: Where does the name Salmonella come from?

A: The genus was named after American veterinary pathologist Daniel Elmer Salmon.

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