Wash tomatoes thoroughly to remove surface contamination

A Salmonella outbreak associated with eating raw red tomatoes has already spread to 16 states, affecting at least 145 people, according to the Food and Drug Administration. There have been no deaths so far, and only 25 people have required hospitalization.

The FDA thus widened its warning to cover the whole nation, from it's June 3 warning that covered only New Mexico and Texas.

The outbreak is caused by a rare strain of Salmonella, serotype Saintpaul. The count of 145 infected people (from April 16 through May 27) is distributed among: Texas (56 persons); New Mexico (39); Illinois (17); Arizona (12); Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin (3 each); Idaho, Oregon and Virginia (2 each); and California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Utah and Washington (1 each). The age of patients ranged from1 to 82 years.

The fact that all these persons were infected with Salmonella Saintpaul was determined from samples sent by clinical laboratories in the different states to the State public health laboratory.

In 2007, there were only 3 persons infected with the same Salmonella strain in the entire country. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the relative rarity of Salmonella Saintpaul and the widespread distribution across all regions indicate that the tomatoes carrying the bacteria have a nationwide distribution.

The CDC also believes it is likely there were more illnesses that occurred but were not reported, because most people sickened by Salmonella do not give stool specimens for testing. It is possible that unreported illnesses may have occurred in states not included in the list above.

The type of tomatoes responsible for the outbreak is still being determined. The illnesses in Texas and New Mexico were all linked to raw, uncooked tomatoes.

Cherry and grape tomatoes, home-grown varieties, and tomatoes still attached to the vine when sold are not implicated in the outbreak. Raw red plum tomato, red Roma, or round red tomatoes coming from specific sources (listed at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html) are also not associated with this occurrence.

Illness may last 4 to 7 days and most people do not need treatment. Infants, elderly persons, and people with weakened immune systems can suffer severe infections. In severe cases, it may be necessary to administer antibiotics.
 
Safety Tips:

* Refrigerate cut or cooked tomatoes within 2 hours or otherwise discard.
* Cook for a minimum 15 seconds in 145 degrees to kill the germs.
* Do not buy damaged tomatoes and discard any spoiled pomes.
* Wash tomatoes thoroughly to remove any surface contamination.
* Separate tomatoes to be eaten raw from other raw foods (meats, seafood, or other produce).