No tomatoes the right call for now
By Staff
Most all restaurants in the area have pulled tomatoes from their kitchens after the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning concerning a 17-state salmonella outbreak linked to three types of raw tomatoes. The FDA is still looking for the source of the outbreak.
Since mid-April there have been 145 reported cases of salmonellosis nationwide, but there have been no reports in Alabama.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and homegrown tomatoes are likely not the source of the outbreak.
Also not associated with the outbreak are raw red Roma, red plum and round red tomatoes from Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico.
Alabama-grown tomatoes are also safe to eat,says state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.
We think local restaurants and their parent companies have done the right thing by pulling tomatoes until a source is found.
