Safe Florida Tomatoes? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!

Pythoness · #21 06-30-2008, 11:16 AM

Since April 2008, 810 persons infected with _Salmonella [enterica_
serotype] Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been
identified in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These were
identified because clinical laboratories in all states send strains
from ill persons to their State public health laboratory for
characterization. Maine and Minnesota have been added to the list of
states with ill persons.

The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows:
Arkansas (10 persons), Arizona (39), California (10), Colorado (8),
Connecticut (4), Florida (1), Georgia (18), Idaho (3), Illinois (78),
Indiana (11), Kansas (14), Kentucky (1), Maine (1), Maryland (25),
Massachusetts (18), Michigan (4), Minnesota (2), Missouri (12), New
Hampshire (3), Nevada (4), New Jersey (4), New Mexico (85), New York
(25), North Carolina (5), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (19), Oregon (7),
Pennsylvania (6), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (342), Utah
(2), Virginia (22), Vermont (1), Washington (4), Wisconsin (6), and
the District of Columbia (1).

Among the 523 persons with information available, illnesses began
between 10 Apr 2008 and 15 Jun 2008. Patients range in age from less
than 1 to 99 years; 51 percent are female. At least 95 persons were
hospitalized. No deaths have been officially attributed to this
outbreak.

[Since 24 Jun 2008, 2 more states (Maine and Minnesota) are now
reported to be involved in the outbreak and 162 more cases linked to
the epidemic strain. The onset of the latest case or cases is now 15
Jun 2008, fully 13 days after the initial CDC report. - Mod.LL]

This is worrisome because of the new wording "no deaths have been officially attributed to the outbreak."

That means some person or people have died.

Pythoness · #22 06-30-2008, 11:18 AM

A widespread practice of mixing tomatoes from different farms at
produce distribution centers has made it impossible so far to trace
the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has sickened
hundreds, federal regulators said Friday [27 Jun 2008].

Dr. David Acheson, an associate commissioner for the Food and Drug
Administration, acknowledged that the extent of the practice, known
as "repacking," was a surprise to agency investigators, and that it
vastly complicates the process of tracing the path of tomatoes from
farm to store. "We are learning that this is a very common practice,"
said Acheson. "Possibly 90 percent of tomatoes are repacked."

The agency has found, for example, that tomatoes from Mexico have
been shipped to Florida, repacked and sold with tomatoes from
Florida. Similarly, tomatoes from the USA are sent to Mexico, where
they are repacked and shipped to the USA as a product of the USA.

None of these juggled tomatoes has yet been linked to the salmonella
outbreak, but the practice illustrates one reason why FDA disease
detectives have had no success in tracking the bug back to the farms
in Mexico or southern Florida, where they think it may have
originated.

Distributors frequently repack tomatoes to meet the needs of
commercial customers, such as restaurant chains, that demand that
each box contain vegetables of similar size and ripeness. Not only
does repacking make it harder to figure out where a bad tomato may
have been grown, it raises the prospect that consumers who think they
are buying produce from one of the many designated "safe" states may
be getting tomatoes comingled with produce from other regions.

Attempts to find sources of vegetable contamination are notoriously
difficult, because the product is perishable, tends to be consumed
quickly, and seldom has the kind of labeling found in processed foods.

"Disease investigators are puzzled that salmonella cases continue to
be recorded long after the harvests have been completed in south
Florida and Mexico where the contamination was thought to take place.
We have no evidence that the outbreak is over," said Dr. Patricia
Griffin, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

She also acknowledged that, for every reported case, there can be as
many as 30 people who recover without a visit to the doctor or whose
illnesses go unreported.

The ongoing nature of the outbreak has also caused disease
investigators to consider that some other food product or process may
be responsible for the salmonella poisoning. Fresh tomatoes grown
this spring in South Florida and Jalisco, Coahuila and Sinaloa,
Mexico, remain the primary focus of the investigation, although tests
of 1700 samples so far have turned up no trace of the bug.

[Byline: Sabin Russell]

What it all boils down to: If you are still buying tomatoes, but are trying to buy "safe" tomatoes - there is no way to tell at the grocery store. Best bet: Buy tomatoes that you know have been locally grown.

Pythoness · #23 07-22-2008, 10:36 AM

Call it the smoking jalapeno. After nearly 2 months of mystery, the
USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified a jalepeno
pepper that is contaminated with the same strain of _Salmonella_
Saintpaul that has sickened more than 1237 people in 43 states.

It's the first time during this outbreak that a test has found the
strain in a piece of produce. The discovery, which will be announced
shortly by the FDA, was made at a packing plant in McAllen, Texas,
according to a source familiar with the issue. The pepper was grown
in Mexico, the source said, but was sent to the USA for sale.
Authorities are not sure where it was contaminated with organism.

It is also not clear whether the same packing plant, which has not
been named by the FDA, also packs tomatoes. The FDA first suspected
tomatoes as the cause of the salmonella outbreak and warned consumers
on 7 Jun 2008 to avoid certain types of tomatoes. It lifted that
warning last week [14-18 Jul 2008].

[Byline: Stephen J. Hedges]

motherof3 · #24 07-22-2008, 05:05 PM

Well damn..I'm glad I haven't bought any jalepeno's recently! That's my favorite pepper too. They just tear me up though the older I get. Thanks for the article PY.

Sugr · #25 07-22-2008, 05:11 PM

Figures...I ate a boat load of jalapenos this weekend. No problems, I guess I'm in the clear.

witchofthedogs · #26 07-22-2008, 05:55 PM

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Jalepenos.

Pythoness · #27 07-23-2008, 11:37 AM

We've been eating jalapenos the whole time, but we make a sauce with them and cook fish in it, so they've been cooked before we ate them.

Green Lantern · #28 07-23-2008, 11:40 AM

i didn't stop eating tomatoes when there was a scare, i didn't stop eating spinach when there was a scare and I am not going to stop eating peppers because of the scare. I refuse to live in fear

Panama Girl · #29 07-23-2008, 02:49 PM

Jalapeno Bacon Poppers, anyone?

motherof3 · #30 07-23-2008, 03:32 PM

PG those sound sooooo good.....mmmmmmm

Safe Florida Tomatoes? I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!

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