How to know if your tomatoes are safe from salmonella

Over the weekend, the FDA issued a warning to consumers to abstain from certain types of tomatoes due to an outbreak of salmonellosis, an infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella. Since April, there have been 167 reported cases of salmonellosis nationwide caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon form of Salmonella. Twenty-three hospitalizations as well as one possibly related death have been reported. Given the current Salmonella outbreak, is it still safe to eat tomatoes? Yes, but only certain types. The Food and Drug Administration is currently tracking the source of the tomato-borne Salmonella infections, but has declared cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold on the vine as safe. So what types of tomatoes are not safe? Large round tomatoes (sometimes called beefsteaks) and the egg-shaped ones, (called plum tomatoes or Roma tomatoes) traditionally used in sauce. What should I do with tomatoes I already have? If they are of the unsafe types (see above), do not eat them. The market where you bought them might refund your money; otherwise, throw them out. What if I plan to cook with them? The FDA does not recommend cooking tomatoes to prevent illness from this outbreak; the types of tomatoes implicated in this outbreak should not be eaten, period. Why are certain varieties safe? Is there something about their genetic makeup that makes them resistant? No. It all has to do with where the tomato was grown. Certain states and countries specialize in specific types of tomatoes. Until the FDA can pinpoint exactly where the infection occurred, it is advising consumers to avoid the types of tomatoes grown in the areas that have not been ruled out. So where are the contaminated tomatoes from? For now, the FDA has issued a list of places whose tomatoes are safe for consumption. The list includes 19 states, including New York, California and Florida (which got the all-clear from the FDA late yesterday), and seven countries, including the Netherlands, Israel and Canada. Conspicuously absent from the list is one major source of tomatoes, Mexico. What about local farm tomatoes? Local tomato season is still at least a month away, so a local farm stand selling tomatoes probably got them elsewhere. Check to see that it wasn't Mexico. There is no cause to worry about a farm stand selling its own hydroponically grown tomatoes. How would a tomato get infected with Salmonella? The culprit is usually water: Crops come into contact with water when they are irrigated, fertilized, washed and processed. If that water came into contact with infected animal feces - not hard to imagine if livestock is being raised nearby - Salmonella can pass to crops. Where does the name Salmonella come from? The genus was named after American veterinary pathologist Daniel Elmer Salmon. More articles