Popular varieties of fresh tomatoes have been pulled from restaurant menus and produce aisles across Northern California as a nationwide salmonella outbreak now linked to 145 illnesses in 16 states continues to spread.
In Sacramento, supermarkets pulled field-grown red round, red Roma and red plum varieties from store shelves over the weekend. Chain restaurants from McDonald's to Noah's Bagels stopped serving tomatoes altogether.
Uncertainty about the source of tomatoes linked to the illnesses prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday to issue a nationwide food safety warning, urging people not to eat the three types of tomatoes.
In California, only two illnesses have been linked to the outbreak, and officials say at least one of the victims ate contaminated tomatoes on a recent trip out of state.
A major local produce distributor said the region's restaurants are trying to comply with the warning, which contains a host of qualifications, but many are finding it confusing.
"Officials are saying there are bad tomatoes out there, but they can't find them, they don't know where they are from," said Jim Mills, sales manager at Produce Express in Sacramento, which supplies fruits and vegetables to hundreds of local eateries. He said his office fielded more than 300 calls Monday from anxious customers.
The outbreak was first spotted in New Mexico and Texas, where investigators identified 57 tomato-related salmonella infections, apparently from a common source, between April 23 and June 1. In the past week, genetic testing has linked dozens of additional salmonella infections in other states to the same source.
At least 23 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
At this time of year, according to industry experts, most red round, red Roma and red plum tomatoes sold in California and across the country come from just two regions: Florida and Mexico. Since the FDA has been unable to narrow its investigation to a particular farm or packing operation, all three of the popular-variety tomatoes from those areas are suspect.
The FDA has cleared several varieties and sources of tomatoes as safe to eat. Those sold with the vine attached, tomatoes grown in greenhouses, cherry and grape tomatoes, and homegrown tomatoes are not believed to be associated with the outbreak. In addition, all varieties of tomatoes grown in certain regions, including California, have been cleared.
Local supermarkets now are carrying only the approved varieties.
All those details have been tough to follow, said Frank Brida, owner of Luigi's Pizza Parlor along Stockton Boulevard. Until he gets some more clarification from local public-health authorities, Brida said, he's not using fresh tomatoes at all.
Shoppers at the Save Mart on Fair Oaks Boulevard in Sacramento, however, said Monday afternoon they were confident in the safety of the store's produce.
"I'm not an alarmist," said Beth Foondos of Sacramento. She'd seen the reports about the salmonella outbreak but said the warnings didn't cross her mind as she picked out some hothouse tomatoes Monday. It would take a more serious hazard, she said, to keep tomatoes out of her family's kitchen.
"We're Greek. We eat tomatoes all the time," she said.
In the next few weeks, as tomatoes in the San Joaquin Valley begin to ripen, Sacramento-area markets and restaurants will begin to get most of their tomatoes from California, according to Ed Beckman, who heads a Fresno-based farmers' cooperative that produces about 80 percent of the state's billion-pound-a-year fresh tomato crop. Unless the outbreak takes an unexpected twist, he said, the FDA warning should have little impact on farmers.
While the Sacramento region is a great place to grow fresh garden tomatoes, most tomatoes visible in local farm fields – and in the tomato trailers on highways in summer – are processing tomatoes, which are churned into tomato paste and then used to make pizza sauce, ketchup and dozens of other products. By weight, nearly 95 percent of the tomatoes grown on California farms are used for processing.
Jim Gorny, who directs the Postharvest Center at UC Davis, said no major salmonella outbreak has ever been tied to a California tomato farm.
Trevor Suslow, another UC Davis produce safety expert, said the salmonella bacteria could have reached the tomatoes linked to the outbreak in many ways, from dirty water used for irrigation to the feces of wild birds, mammals or even reptiles. Industry food-safety efforts focus on preventing salmonella contamination in the first place, Suslow said, because it is virtually impossible to wash off salmonella bacteria once they have colonized a tomato.
Symptoms of salmonella infection appear within 12 to 72 hours of eating tainted food, can last four to seven days, and may include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
Most people bounce back from the disease without treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But some develop more serious problems. Salmonella bacteria can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then throughout the body, sometimes leading to death.
Infants, elderly people and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness.
Call The Bee's Jim Downing, (916) 321-1065.
