Consumer Affair
How to avoid salmonella from tomatoes
By David Liu
Jun 22, 2008 - 3:37:14 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 22, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Food and Drug Administration updated the ongoing salmonella Saintpaul outbreak on June 20 saying the source of the outbreak might be Florida or Mexico, but many of the tomatoes producing countries in the two regions have already been ruled out as the source.

For most consumers, it does not matter the tomatoes that have caused the current outbreak and sickened more than 582 people in 32 states came from Florida or Mexico or somewhere else because next time you shop for tomatoes, you do not know where the tomatoes you are going to buy come from anyway.  

The important thing they should absolutely remember is that some types of tomatoes are always riskier than others.   The history of salmonella outbreaks linked with consumption of tomatoes shows that most of cases were caused by eating big red round or Roma tomatoes. These types of tomatoes are somehow riskier than other types no matter where they come from.

A sharp contrast is that tomatoes sold on the market with the vine attached have never been implicated in any outbreak at least in the past decade as far as the writer knows.

This suggests that the ways tomatoes of these two types are grown and handled are definitely different.   When you shop, you may often notice that big red round tomatoes and Roma tomatoes are more likely than tomatoes with vines attached to get bruised or damaged.  

Tomatoes with the skin damaged are more likely to get contaminated with all types of bacteria including salmonella.   That is why the FDA warns consumers not to buy tomatoes bruised or with their skin damaged.

Although the source of the current outbreak like those for many previous ones is likely a single grower or farm as the FDA said early, restaurants can play a significant role in the increased risk of a salmonella outbreak.  Many outbreaks including the current one involved tomato-serving restaurants.

The FDA recommends that retailers, restaurateurs, and food service operators offer only fresh and fresh cut red Roma, red plum, and round red tomatoes and food products made from these tomatoes for sale or service from the sources listed above.

One possible reason people got sick after eating tomatoes at some restaurant may be that some eateries kept using the same container for cut tomatoes throughout the day.   Pre-cut tomatoes without proper storage might also be the culprits that caused outbreaks.

The FDA said clearly that cut tomatoes should not be allowed to sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.   They should be placed in a refrigerator if not consumed.

In a word, to avoid salmonella illness, you should buy only fresh tomatoes with the skin intact or even better with the vine attached.   Tomatoes should be used or placed in a refrigerator within two hours after they are cut.   If you have some health condition that has compromised your immune system, by all means try to avoid eating raw tomatoes including products containing fresh tomatoes at restaurants.  Do not eat unhealthy tomatoes – those with the skin injured or rotten – at home or restaurant.

The FDA suggested on its website that consumers should ask the store they shop at where its tomatoes come from. That does not make any sense because tainted tomatoes can come from any source. There is no saying that tomatoes from a source other than Florida or Mexico are definitely safe.

In any case, consumers should not be worried unduly about the tomato-related salmonella illness.   To say the least, tainted tomatoes rarely cause deaths.   The chance for a consumer to die from eating tomatoes is such that before he died, he would have died thousands or ten of thousands times already from other causes.