Sam 'n' Ella's Tomatoes

The consumer advisory issued by the FDA against eating certain types of raw red tomatoes continues. From their latest press release:

The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its warning to consumers nationwide that a salmonellosis outbreak has been linked to consumption of certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these raw, red tomatoes.

FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, consumers are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made. Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

On June 5, using traceback and other distribution pattern information, FDA published a list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes are grown and harvested which have not been associated with this outbreak. This updated list includes: Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico.

Yet another good reason for everyone to be reading the labels, even on the fruit they buy! Imported fruit will carry the country of origin on those annoying little sticky labels that can be so hard to peel off. Before selecting out-of-season tomatoes, take a close look at the label. The one at right shows that the tomato was grown in Canada, a country not affected by the advisory.

Photo by cdozo, Used under Creative Commons license.