So how much damage can a few rotten tomatoes really do? The tomato-linked salmonella outbreak announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 3 has claimed 228 victims in 23 states over 58 days (and counting). It has put 25 people in the hospital and may have had a role in hastening the death of a cancer patient. And then there’s the flurry of panic as many of the tomatoes that American consumers take for granted every day suddenly disappear — from McDonald’s hamburgers; from the salsa at Chipotle Mexican Grill; from Burger King, Taco Bell and Sonic; and from the grocery shelves at Kroger, Wal-Mart and Target. Didn’t we just go through this with bagged spinach? With peanut butter? With pet food?
Because the FDA’s tomato-recall recommendation is so specific — including only three types, grown in certain regions during a certain time — and because many national chains pulled their tomato stock within days of the announcement, most of the infected samples have likely been removed. But the outbreak remains ongoing; its source has not yet been determined, and the government is investigating new cases every day. It may be a few more weeks before the delicious staple fruit is given the all-clear.
Taking tomatoes off shelves and menus may contain the outbreak, but it doesn’t explain it. On May 22, the New Mexico Health Department notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it knew of seven people recently infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, an unusual strand of the bacteria that accounted for only 400 of the 1.4 million cases of salmonella infection reported last year. And it was precisely because occurrences of the Saintpaul strand are so rare that the report caught the CDC’s attention. When Texas and a few other states reported cases of people being infected by bacteria with the same “genetic fingerprint,” a multistate search for Salmonella Saintpaul was launched. While the CDC tracked reported illnesses, the FDA interviewed victims to find out what they had eaten (and where). The common answer was tomatoes.
There have been 13 outbreaks of salmonella in tomatoes since 1990, which puts the fruit on the list of high-risk foods that are prone to infection. But unlike the bagged spinach from the 2006 E. Coli scare, the tomatoes don’t come with a traceable bar code. “When you’re dealing with tomatoes, it is much, much more complex,” explains Dr. David Acheson, the FDA’s associate commissioner for foods. The FDA’s great tomato hunt has an ever-expanding list of suspects. A salmonella victim can point to the supermarket (or restaurant) that sold the offending fruit, but that store probably sources its tomatoes from several suppliers, each of which uses several distributors — and distributors buy from any number of growers.
“Each set of questions just multiplies into a fan of information that has to be sorted through to understand where the links cross over,” says Acheson. Although the FDA has managed to rule out some regions — northern Florida is safe because its tomatoes weren’t ready for harvest at the time of the outbreak — it will be some time until the true source is found. “We’re not quite there yet,” says Acheson, “but we’re getting very close.” But Dr. Ian Williams, chief of the CDC’s OutbreakNet team, warns that the source may never be found due to the fruit’s short shelf life. “You don’t expect to find an infected tomato sitting on someone’s counter 10 days after the outbreak,” says Williams.
Still, the lag time between the initial outbreak and the government’s reaction is startling: the first Salmonella Saintpaul victim fell ill on April 16, but the FDA didn’t announce the tomato link until June 3. Williams says part of the problem identifying salmonella outbreaks is that a lot of victims don’t see the symptoms — diarrhea, fever, vomiting — as sufficiently severe to warrant a visit to the doctor, and so they go undiagnosed. “There may be a delay in reporting outbreaks because people do not have a stool specimen tested,” he says. Officials have not yet identified an infected tomato, and because of the fruit’s short shelf life, they probably never will.
The FDA unveiled a tomato-safety initiative in 2007 that sought to identify causes of salmonella infection, but Acheson admits that studying preventive techniques doesn’t help the FDA deal with outbreaks. The FDA has no plans to change the initiative in the face of the recent outbreak.
Even if the FDA can pinpoint the source of the outbreak, it’s hard for consumers to know where their tomatoes are grown. Certain imported foods are required to carry country-of-origin labels, but that doesn’t apply to domestic produce. “I’m not aware of any tomato outbreak that was not domestic,” says Acheson. There is no such thing as a mandatory state-of-origin label for food, and federal authorities have yet to create such a law. “Saying ‘product of the U.S.’ isn’t necessarily going to confer safety,” he says. So much for reassurance.
Vi ste jeben.
I am so glad that you are doing this. I have been trying in vain for weeks to find any information about the candidates positions, so that I could make an educated decision in the upcoming primary. Until this blog I haven;t found anything at all. Thanks for this. (though so far I am only seeing the answer to one question re: parleys. Is that the only one answered by the candidates so far?
Thanks for the comment Cheryl. The posts have been getting alot of traffic but not much in comments. The Salt Lake community hasn’t really caught on to blogging.
I was going to post a question per week. But now I’ll probably be posting the remaining questions and the candidates statements this weekend.
I agree with Cheryl. The primary is less than a month away and except for lawn signs, I am not aware of anything going on with respect to this race. This is not as much as reflection of opinion as a question but why isn’t J.T. Martin willing to participate, particularly since there are seemingly so few forums available?
Thanks for your comment Nancy. I am also disappointed at the seeming lack of interest in this race. We ahve some good candidates that look great on the surface but certainly have differing views and core views after you peel off the surface.
I was originally going to have the candidates who survive the primary at my home for a debate, but there is just nothing stirring enough interest.
I spoke with JT after my “introduction” and he said he was looking forward to participating and then he just didn’t follow through. He is very busy with multiple business ventures. Perhaps to busy to represent us on the council.
He made a very interesting comment to me comparing Obama and his vision to Abraham Lincoln? It really threw a different perspective on his views.
Again, thanks for your comment.
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Thank you Jeppsons. I share the others’ comments about wanting more information from Counci 6 candidates.
While still fluid, I must credit Ms. Reddick for having her represenatative walk the district, in the summer, when peoples’ thoughts aren’t on politics. She has demonstrated effectiveness for perserverance, if not dedication, for helping nurture and lead the Bonneville Hills Community Council.
It would be better if (much better than “should”) I had attended those meetings. Thanks for the invitations, Council. I will attend sometime. I was on the Sugar House Community Council at one time and understand how thankless serving on them can be. But that’s not why members serve, and I, for one, do thank them.
I have yet to meet any of the candidates personally and won’t need to if this blog serves it purpose.
Thanks again.
Thanks for commenting Tim. Yes, I was hoping for a lot more interaction between candidates and our community on this blog debate. Perhaps it was contraversial enough to attract attention.
I’m posting the last question on Meth Labs tomrrow.
You’re so right about those who spend their time on community councils. So few in our communities participate and don’t realize the incluence the community councils have.
I’ve been looking for some community council bloggers to help me get a little more word out on what goes on. Time seems to get in the way.
Thanks again for commenting.
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Hi Keith,
Thank you for this blog - I have been reading comments and find them very helpful as a candidate.
I was walking Tim’s area with a neighbor. I have been walking every night from 6:00 - 8:45
and Saturdays from 10:00 to 4:00, many times by myself.
I am meeting great people and learning viewpoints and concerns.
Tim is correct – being a community council chair does take a lot of time but one thing everyone must remember – If you aren’t designing and fostering your community who is? This is my second time as community council chair and it is a great experience.
I was raised to love and be an iatrical part of making my community better. Our community council are the 4th Thursday of the month. The last one was Lt. Grey from the police department talking about $191 million safety bond. It was excellent sorry you all missed it.
On another note Keith – I agree with you and Karen and the Realty Board. Making the realtor responsible for meth disclosure as is currently and also being considered is not
the direction to move towards. The article is excellent and I hope more people will read it
and speak out about this issue.
Thanks again Keith for your efforts with this blog
354Back at you soon
Thanks for stopping by Ellen. You’ve run a great campaigan and have made yourself very visible and open to your community. I really hope and expect to see you in the finals.
You’re so right on the METH. Liberty Wells Community Council is really pushing for Realtor liability. They are grasping for anything that will provide money to assist those who’ve purchased a contaminated home. Hopefully the City Council will look more realistically at who is responsible and how to make them accountable.