Salmonella Outbreak Due To Tomatoes

[Beach Runner]

There has been a warning regarding a salmonella outbreak from uncooked tomatoes. We just called LongHorn for a takeout, and they told us that the dish we chose was unavailable due to its uncooked tomato sauce. Apparently LongHorn had to throw out 40,000 tomatoes, especially Romas. I have verified this on the Internet.

[wrobert]

There has been a warning regarding a salmonella outbreak from uncooked tomatoes. We just called LongHorn for a takeout, and they told us that the dish we chose was unavailable due to its uncooked tomato sauce. Apparently LongHorn had to throw out 40,000 tomatoes, especially Romas. I have verified this on the Internet.

This has always confused me. Can salmonella actually get into the fruit or vegetable? I always thought if you washed those things you were okay. If I have to stop eating raw tomotaoes I am just going to go find a tall bridge now......

[scooterbug44]

I think I'm safe since my tomatoes come from a local source, not a 'mater factory and I don't eat at Longhorn

How many food safety issues do we need to have before people start to question how their food is raised/grown and processed?

[SHELLY]

This has always confused me. Can salmonella actually get into the fruit or vegetable? I always thought if you washed those things you were okay. If I have to stop eating raw tomotaoes I am just going to go find a tall bridge now......

Take it from someone who has experienced a bout with salmonella...you don't want to take any chances with this monster.

Refraining from eating a product until it is cleared by the powers that be certainly trumps finding yourself laying on the bathroom floor praying to die just so you can feel better.

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[Beach Runner]

I think I'm safe since my tomatoes come from a local source, not a 'mater factory and I don't eat at Longhorn

Unfortunately, when you live in a small town, are too tired/lazy to cook, and don't want to take the time or gas money to drive to Atlanta, you have very few options: McD's, Wendy's, Longhorn, local Mexican and Chinese restaurants, etc. And our local country club to which we pay boatloads of money per month is awful.

It pukes me, too. But our jobs are here, and that's what pays for our three homes.

[tistheseason]

Take it from someone who has experienced a bout with salmonella...you don't want to take any chances with this monster.

Refraining from eating a product until it is cleared by the powers that be certainly trumps finding yourself laying on the bathroom floor praying to die just so you can feel better.

.

I agree. I spent a week in the hospital fighting a bout of salmonella. I did just about die. Don't mess around with this monster!

[Beach Runner]

I agree. I spent a week in the hospital fighting a bout of salmonella. I did just about die. Don't mess around with this monster!

Wow. Daughter and BF think they have it, too. They had Romas in ATL yesterday.

So sorrry you got so sick.

[Miss Critter]

A few years ago, while living here in SoWal, we found UglyRipe tomatoes at Publix. These were by far the best tasting tomatoes I ever ate (and I'm from New Orleans, so I've had more than my share of creoles), and yes, they were ugly. Too ugly, in fact, to sell. Did you know that tomatoes, according to the Florida Tomato Committee (I swear I am not making this up) have to have a certain "roundness" in order to be sold? Of course, this group consists of competing growers - imagine that.

Our government says we can smoke cigarettes, ingest artificial sweeteners and more foreign chemicals than we can imagine, even eat rat poop in hot dogs - but God help you if you try to sell a tomato that isn't round enough!

BUT, we do have a chance to change the law. Please go to http://www.uglyripe.com to help change this ridiculous law. And no, I do not have any financial interest in the company. I'm just sick and tired of stupidity running amok in the name of government. Whew. . . I feel better now.

And thanks for the warning about the current salmonella outbreak. I always scrub my produce with baking soda. Would that be enough to avoid the bacteria, or does it penetrate the fruit?

[DD]

Yeah, it's an untimely issue. It being summer and all. I try to buy homegrown when I can, but sometimes, you gotta settle for the store bought kind. I ordered a salad yesterday at Chili's (sorry Skunky) and it was "supposed" to have pico de gallo on it. No pico. Crappy salad.

[elgordoboy]

Yeah, it's an untimely issue. It being summer and all. I try to buy homegrown when I can, but sometimes, you gotta settle for the store bought kind. I ordered a salad yesterday at Chili's (sorry Skunky) and it was "supposed" to have pico de gallo on it. No pico. Crappy salad.

Beware e. coli too then.

[Miss Kitty]

This was big news around here last week, but I thought they had decided it was not the tomatoes.

[DD]

Beware e. coli too then.

[Beach Runner]

If we're going to eat raw fruits or vegetables that can be thoroughly rinsed (like tomatoes, bell peppers, but obviously not salad greens), I wash them in antibacterial soap and then rinse them thoroughly. You know that restaurants don't wash fruits and vegetables as well as we do at home -- too time-consuming (=too expensive due to labor costs).

[Johnrudy]

This is sort of a post and run and may have already been mentioned earlier on this thread... but on our local Chicago news they said in regards to the salmonella outbreak, "be sure and wash your tomatoes well and you should be ok." Now of course, at restaurants, one never knows how well or if produce has even been washed.

But at home, it sounds as if it's safe to eat any and all tomatoes IF you wash them well (not just rinse).

Is this what others are hearing??

.

[wrobert]

This is sort of a post and run and may have already been mentioned earlier on this thread... but on our local Chicago news they said in regards to the salmonella outbreak, "be sure and wash your tomatoes well and you should be ok." Now of course, at restaurants, one never knows how well or if produce has even been washed.

But at home, it sounds as if it's safe to eat any and all tomatoes IF you wash them well (not just rinse).

Is this what others are hearing??

.

That is what I thought. But washing them tends to take away the added flavor you get from field picked vegetables.

[seagrovegirl]

Tomatos can carry bacteria in it's flesh. It absorbs a tremendous amount of water and depending on what you are fertilizing with, determines what is in the pulp. One rule of thumb...don't grow tomatos on top of your septic drainfield. Same with cucumbers. If it is not grown in your back yard or grown by a market you trust....don't eat watery veggies and fruit.

[beachmouse]

A good chunk of it is probably general liability instead of a lack of faith in food safety practices. It's probably cheaper for a restuarant to throw out all the tomatoes than to deal with a wrongful death lawsuit if someone with a weak or undeveloped immune system gets sick.

The Quizno's I went to today had also pulled all tomatoes from their stock.

[scooterbug44]

Ew! Forget tomatoes, I don't think you should be growing ANY food in your septic drain field!

[Beach Runner]

Tomatos can carry bacteria in it's flesh. It absorbs a tremendous amount of water and depending on what you are fertilizing with, determines what is in the pulp. One rule of thumb...don't grow tomatos on top of your septic drainfield. Same with cucumbers. If it is not grown in your back yard or grown by a market you trust....don't eat watery veggies and fruit.

So I guess that means that even if I wash my tomatoes in antibacterial soap, there can be bacteria below the surface that I can't get to. Peeling them should help, right (but not be bulletproof)?

[ASH]

McDonalds pulled sliced tomatoes from all of the US stores until this is resolved. Still serving the grape tomatoes in their salads as it is unrelated, but that ought to put some teeth into fixing things. They must go through a lot of tomatoes.

[Johnrudy]

McDonalds pulled sliced tomatoes from all of the US stores until this is resolved. Still serving the grape tomatoes in their salads as it is unrelated, but that ought to put some teeth into fixing things. They must go through a lot of tomatoes.

grape tomatoes just don't cut it for me. We wait sooo long for such a short tomato season.

[Lady D]

grape tomatoes just don't cut it for me. We wait sooo long for such a short tomato season.

It turns out the source of the tainted tomatoes were South Florida and Mexico.

[ASH]

Wasn't there a thread on here a while back about Taco Bell or someone talking about dropping their South Florida source for tomatoes because the growers were asking an additional penny per pound in an attempt to supplement the living standards of the workers?
Probably didn't get that penny a pound and decided not to work so hard. Now look what happened to the tomatoes.

[SHELLY]

Probably didn't get that penny a pound and decided not to work so hard. Now look what happened to the tomatoes.

I think they didn't get the penny so they decided to cut costs by cancelling their Porta-Loo contract.


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[Smiling JOe]

Take it from someone who has experienced a bout with salmonella...you don't want to take any chances with this monster.

Refraining from eating a product until it is cleared by the powers that be certainly trumps finding yourself laying on the bathroom floor praying to die just so you can feel better.

.

Or, you can get the tomatoes from a reliable, locally-grown source.

Robert, let's say the salmonella bacteria is on the outside of the tomato, due to unsanitary hands picking the tomatoes. The tomato contaminates other tomatoes and everything with which the tomatoes comes into contact. The tomatoes hit the blade of the knife as they are being chopped, and the salmonella is now on the inner parts of the tomato, and possibly every tomato cut by that knife or blades.