If you haven’t heard yet, tomatoes have been causing quite a ruckus lately. First, it was Texas and New Mexico, and now, the salmonella outbreak in tomatoes has gone national. With victims in 16 states, the FDA is advising people across the country to avoid certain kinds of tomatoes—or at least to verify the country/state of origin before consumption.
Those “safe” places of origin according to the FDA website:
FDA traceback review, in addition to production and distribution pattern information, has indicated that tomatoes from the following sources are not associated with the outbreak:
- Arkansas
- California
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Belgium
- Canada
- Dominican Republic
- Guatemala
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Puerto Rico
FDA recommends that retailers, restaurateurs, and food service operators offer only fresh and fresh cut red Roma, red plum, and round red tomatoes and food products made from these tomatoes for sale or service from the sources listed above.
FDA further recommends that retailers, restaurateurs, and food service operators continue to offer cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, from any source.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html
So check your tomatoes and ensure that no matter their type or origin, they are being washed and prepared safely. To give this story a little context, the FDA also has a webpage dedicated to working toward safer tomatoes. According to this site:
During the past decade, eating fresh and fresh-cut tomatoes has been linked to 12 different outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States. Those outbreaks include 1,840 confirmed cases of illness. Most of the outbreaks have been traced to products from Florida and the eastern shore of Virginia. But tomato-associated outbreaks have also been traced to tomatoes from California, Georgia, Ohio, and South Carolina.
The same page begins with this paragraph:
FDA is launching a Tomato Safety Initiative to reduce the incidence of tomato-related foodborne illness in the United States. The initiative will begin during this year's growing season in Virginia in the summer and in the fall for Florida.
Source: http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/tomato061407.html
For what it’s worth, though, the date on that particular FDA webpage is June 14, 2007: almost exactly one year ago. Your patrons’ best protection against eating contaminated food may very well be you and your employees. By practicing safe food handling, you can help ensure an enjoyable dining experience and repeat customers. Call Serv-U for food safety equipment and supplies. For more information about food safety, check out Serv-U’s extensive collection of food safety resources.
