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FDA Clears Tomatoes for Consumption

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted the Salmonella warning on red and Roma tomatoes:

FDA officials believe that consumers may enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available on the domestic market, without concern of becoming infected with Salmonella Saintpaul. The agency is removing the warning that has been in place since June 7, which states that consumers should avoid certain types of fresh tomatoes due to a potential connection to the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak

Consumers may resume enjoying any type of fresh tomato, including raw red plum, raw red Roma, and raw red round tomatoes.

The Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that has sickened over 1000 people was initially associated with tomatoes.  Health officials were not able to confirm a link between tomatoes and the illnesses, particularly when people continued to get sick.

Some evidence suggests that the source of the outbreak may have been jalapeño and Serrano peppers. The FDA is encouraging people in high risk groups (the very young, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems) to avoid consuming those items:

While we are changing our consumer guidance about tomatoes, we reiterate our guidance to consumers that those in vulnerable populations (infants, the elderly, and immune-compromised people) should avoid eating jalapeño and serrano peppers as the investigation continues.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that many, but not all, of the people who have become ill during the outbreak also reported eating jalapeño or serrano peppers.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on July 17, 2008 (boomark / email).