Tomato salmonella outbreak

(Note: An updated entry on the tomato salmonella outbreak has been posted.)

The latest food contamination alert: large, raw tomatoes. The Chicago Tribune says:

Two people from Illinois have been hospitalized and another 10 sickened by a rare strain of salmonella that has been linked to raw tomatoes in other states.

Since mid-April, 86 people in 11 states have been infected with the strain known as Salmonella Saintpaul. The bulk of the cases have been reported in New Mexico and Texas, but Illinois has the third-highest number of reported illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The New Mexico and Texas cases have been preliminarily linked to large, raw tomatoes, including Roma and red round. Consumers in those states have been advised to eat only cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, home-grown tomatoes or those sold with the vine still attached.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Health said it’s too early to say if the Illinois cases are linked to tomatoes, but the agency is investigating.

According to ABC News, restaurants, hospitals, schools and grocery stores have been asked by the New Mexico state government to stop selling or selling the suspect…what? Vegetable? Fruit? Whichever - it’s on the out list for now.

When grocery shopping last week, I was torn between buying cherry tomatoes or nice, red Romas. I went with the cherry variety. How prescient of me.

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