People are getting very sick from eating raw tomatoes, tainted with salmonella. Some restaurants and stores, including McDonalds, Taco Bell, Whole Foods, Subway, Olive Garden and IHOP have pulled several types of tomatoes from its shelves and have stopped serving tomatoes as a precaution until the source of the salmonella outbreak is determined.
The Centers for Disease Control is not sure where those tainted tomatoes came from, but they are warning people about eating large tomatoes, including Roma and Red Round. Investigations have turned up 56 cases in Texas and 55 in New Mexico and an additional 50 people have been infected from the same Salmonella infection in states stretching from California to Virginia. Two people in Idaho have become sick, in Oregon two people and one person in Washington
The Food and Drug Administration is alerting consumers nationwide (children and adults) that a salmonellosis outbreak appears to be linked to consumption of certain types of raw red tomatoes and products containing raw red tomatoes. The bacteria causing the illnesses are Salmonella serotype Saintpaul, an uncommon type of Salmonella.
At this time, consumers should limit their tomato consumption to tomatoes that have not been implicated in the outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and tomatoes grown at home. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, you are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made.
Symptoms of food poisoning begin eight to 72 hours after eating food contaminated with Salmonella. These symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, lasting from one to five days. Dehydration can be a complication in severe cases. People generally recover without antibiotic treatment, although they may feel tired for a week after the active symptoms subside.
Update:
How to protect your family: Salmonella can be transmitted to humans when fecal material from animals or humans contaminates food. Symptoms are similar to the flu, but the poisoning can be fatal to young children, pregnant women and other people with weakened immune systems. There is no way for consumers to detect salmonella (you can’t smell, taste or see it), but there are some things you can do to reduce the risk to yourself and your family:
Wash all produce thoroughly with cold running water (whether organic or not), scrubbing them gently with your hands or with a vegetable brush, and cut away the part that is attached to the plant and the button on the other side. That part can carry a foodborne illness, and organisms can attach themselves to it. Cooking tomatoes at 145 degrees will kill salmonella. Remove outer layers of cabbage and lettuce. Fruits should be washed, regardless of whether you are eating the peel; even if someone is peeling an orange, that person is touching part of the orange he is going to eat. (Bananas are an exception.)
Don’t bother with a special vegetable wash because studies show that it’s not much better than water. Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly before handling food. Wash your hands if you come in contact with pet feces, use the bathroom or change a baby’s diaper.Wash cutting boards, counters and utensils to avoid cross-contamination. Avoid any kind of contact with raw meat when preparing fresh vegetables. Refrigerate sliced up fruits and vegetables.
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hi Lin, This is a very good “Public Service Announcement”. I took the family to Chipotle yesterday (Sunday) for lunch. We think it is great, affordable, healthy, and fresh Mexican “fast food” (anyone reading this should try them if you haven’t). Anyway, they had a sign up that they weren’t serving fresh salsa because of this outbreak (take no chances!). Well, we learned that we don’t like their burritos as much with their corn salsa instead of their fresh tomato salsa
– so actually, wait to check them out until this outbreak is over.
I’ve got several green tomatoes on my plants in the backyard, though it will be a few more weeks until they’re ready. Another reason for home grown tomatoes (at least for those of us that can’t imagine life without tomatoes!).
Well, I’m not sure were I’m going with this train of thought, so I’ll just say – good post. Being sick is no fun. ~ Steve
Steve, I’ve had food poisoning 5 times in my life and it’s no fun at all, lemme tell ya. If we didn’t have two dogs chewing on everything in sight in our backyard, we’d still….have our tomato plants. I can’t even imagine how painful the stomachache and cramps would be like with salmonella poisoning. I don’t want to find out.
We’ve been to Chipotle lots of times, and I’m addicted to their chicken carnitas. I can do without the tomato salsa though, cause it tends to be a bit too spicy for me. We went to Subway yesterday and they didn’t serve any tomatoes either, and I love tomatoes!
hi Lin, Thanks for the heads up on Subway. We haven’t been there in about two weeks which is a pretty long stretch since it’s our kids’ favorite and much healthy than a burger and fries. We don’t have dogs, but I lost a tomato plant to our cat this year. She covered up the small seedling with dirt after doing her business next to it. The rest of the tomato seedlings were “cat-proofed” after that until they got bigger.
I’ve had food poisoning twice if my memory serves me, which is two too many times (I can still taste a bad chicken burrito coming back up 10 years ago). I don’t want to image how much worse salmonella poisoning would be… ~ Steve
Did anyone ever stop to think where the migrant worker use the restrooms? Could it be in the fields with the tomatoes?
ES, I haven’t seen any reports that suggest that as a possibility, but it does make me wonder. Hopefully the authorities will find the cause of the salmonella poisoning very soon so steps can be taken to ensure our food and tomatoes are safe to eat. I miss my tomatoes for sure!
Sure seems like this is happening more and more not just with tomatoes. In the last few years there have been so many issues for e-coli and salmonella on a wide range of foodstuffs.
Certainly makes you wonder who is playing with our food supply.
That’s true Misty, we really don’t know what all goes on with our food supply. I sometimes hear stories on the radio from people who used to work in the restaurant or food business talking about the types of things they’d do to people’s food if the customer made them made. Spitting on the food before serving it to the customer; food being dropped on the floor in the kitchen, such as a steak that’s been cooked, and it’s rinsed off and reheated and served. Makes ya wonder, doesn’t it?
I tell you first it was spinach last year and now tomatoes this year…something has to change! It truly makes me wonder about whethr I need to be growing more and more of my own produce for safety sake.
This outbreak will hopefully make people become more aware of the importance of proper handling of our food, and the need to do the necessary things to make sure the food we prepare and serve our children and families is washed and safe for consumption. It really grosses me out when I see women leaving public restrooms without taking a minute to properly wash their hands. Yuck.
E.S. – I think your thought is in the right direction, but I’m afraid it goes a bit deeper than your initial inkling.
Dad of Divas – Yes you should be growing more of your own food and buying from small local growers. It is the only way to know where your food has been, whats been done to it and if it is safe to eat.
Lin – It isn’t what was on the skin of the produce, it is what was on the inside of it, which only happens with a method of growing.
The really scary notion is that as a nation we have no control over our food source.
To be honest, the Samonella viruses have been discovered not only in Tomatoes, but also in several other fruits as well…
I didn’t dare to eat the tomatoes raw, as I knew I will get infected with the Samonella viruses!
Hi Wilson,
After doing this post the officials started saying they were looking at jalapeno peppers as the possible cause of the salmonella outbreak, amongst other things. If any announcement has been made about the proven cause of the outbreak, I haven’t heard it.