Thread: Who picked these Tomatoes ?

Could there be a group of people out there that would like to make a lot of us ill ? Makes me wonder hmm.


http://tinyurl.com/64lbce



By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
42 minutes ago



ATLANTA - An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday.

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Lab tests have confirmed 40 illnesses in Texas and New Mexico as the same type of salmonella, right down to the genetic fingerprint. An investigation by Texas and New Mexico health authorities and the Indian Health Service tied those cases to uncooked, raw, large tomatoes.

At least 17 people in Texas and New Mexico have been hospitalized. None have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another 30 people have become sick with the same Salmonella Saintpaul infection in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois and Indiana. CDC investigators are looking into whether tomatoes were culprits there, too.

In Texas and New Mexico, raw large tomatoes — including Roma and red round tomatoes — were found to be a common factor in the 40 illnesses. But no farm, distributor or grocery chain has been identified as the main source, said Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist working on the investigation.

"The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation," she said.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness tends to last four to seven days.

Many people recover without treatment. However, severe infection and even death is possible. Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe infections.

In Texas and New Mexico, the patients ranged in age from ages 3 to 82. Of the 40, 38 were interviewed. Most said they ate raw tomatoes from either stores or restaurants before becoming ill between April 23 and May 27.

Another 17 cases are under investigation in New Mexico, CDC officials said

WHAT COUNTRY ARE THESE TOMATOES FROM? MANY FARMERS HAVE MOVED TO MEXICO FOR CHEAP LABOR. AND IN WHAT TRUCK WERE THESE DELIVERED? AND WHAT ELSE WAS RIDING ALONG IN THE TRUCK? THESE PEOPLE THAT GOT SICK KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THE TOMATOES THEY ATE. AND THE BUSINESSES WHO DISTRIBUTED THE TOMATOES KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THEM. SO WHY IS IT NOT BEING MADE PUBLIC THE ORIGINAL SOURCE OF THESE TOMATOES?

Salmonella is fairly common in tomatoes:

In the eastern United States, tomatoes are grown in natural habitats for many known Salmonella reservoirs, including birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Salmonella infections have been linked to tomatoes since 1990, when S. Javiana caused 176 illnesses in four midwestern states (2). Those tomatoes, and those implicated in a subsequent outbreak in 1993, were traced to a South Carolina packing house. Cross-contamination might have occurred at the packing house, where substantial numbers of tomatoes passed through a common wash tank (2). In 1994 and 1995, a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points program was implemented at this packing house and disseminated to the tomato industry (3). The key critical-control point implemented was maintenance of water quality, specifically monitoring chlorine levels, pH, and water temperature in the wash tank. Of seven subsequent tomato-associated Salmonella outbreaks, six have been traced to other packing houses in the southeastern United States (4,5). Although produce packing houses are specifically exempt from the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), FDA guidance (6) to the produce industry encourages GMP controls for water used in packing houses. However, the extent to which FDA guidance has been adopted by the industry is unknown. Tomato-associated Salmonella outbreaks reported to CDC have increased in frequency and magnitude in recent years and caused 1,616 reported illnesses in nine outbreaks during 1990--2004, representing approximately 60,000 illnesses when accounting for the estimated proportion (97.5%) of unreported illness (7).

Salmonella can enter tomato plants through roots or flowers ( and can enter the tomato fruit through small cracks in the skin, the stem scar, or the plant itself (9). However, whether Salmonella can travel from roots to the fruit, or if seeds can contaminate subsequent generations of tomato plants, is unknown. Understanding the mechanism of contamination and amplification of contamination of large volumes of tomatoes is critical to prevent large-scale, tomato-associated outbreaks. Contamination might occur during multiple steps from the tomato seed nursery to the final kitchen. Eradication of Salmonella from the interior of the tomato is difficult without cooking, even if treated with highly concentrated chlorine solution (10).

Public health professionals should be aware of tomatoes as a possible vehicle when investigating Salmonella outbreaks. Current knowledge of mechanisms of tomato contamination and methods of eradication of Salmonella in fruit are inadequate to fully define interventions that will ensure produce safety. Studies into these concerns should be a priority for the agricultural industry, food safety agencies, and the public health community.

WE DO KNOW HOW TO PRODUCE SAFE FOOD. FOOD WAS PRETTY SAFE FOR MANY DECADES. PROPER GUIDELINES ARE NOT BEING FOLLOWED BY SOMEONE ALONG THE CHAIN OR WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THESE CONSTANT PROBLEMS. THIS INCLUDES TOMATOES. I DONT THINK THAT TOMATOES ARE ANY MORE PRONE TO CONTAMINATION THAT ANY OTHER FRUIT OR VEGETABLE. AFTER ALL THERE ARE BIRDS AND REPTILES ANYWHERE PLANTS ARE GROWN. THEY ARE A PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT. THE RECENT CONTAMINATIONS, I THINK, ARE DUE TO POOR SAFETY STANDARDS. AND I WOULD NOT BE AT ALL SUPRISED TO FIND OUT THESE TOMATOES CAME FROM MEXICO IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT OF COURSE OUR PROCESSING HOUSES ARE HORRIBLE SO IT COULD BE THAT TOO.