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FDA reports progress in determining source of salmonella

Infection Control Monitor, June 13, 2008

Officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this week that they hope to announce soon the source of a salmonella outbreak associated with raw tomatoes.

The salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 167 people in 17 states since April and led restaurants and grocery stores to remove some types of raw tomatoes from their menus and shelves. An FDA spokeswoman said the federal agency is getting closer to identifying the source or sources of the salmonella. The FDA warned consumers against eating certain raw tomatoes, including red plum, red Roma, or round. Grape and cherry tomatoes or tomatoes still attached to the vine aren’t linked to the illness. Also ruled safe are tomatoes from more than 30 states or countries. You can find updated lists of safe regions at www.fda.gov.

However, health experts said that the many problems that have caused food recalls in recent years are likely to worsen, reported The New York Times. Since 1990, the CDC has seen 13 multistate outbreaks of salmonella poisoning related to tomatoes, the newspaper said.

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