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Local restaurants, grocers pull certain fresh tomatoes in salmonella scare
> Are you worried about your tomatoes?
Monday, June 09, 2008
Several Dayton-area grocery stores and restaurants have pulled fresh tomatoes from their shelves and menus in the wake of a Food and Drug Administration warning to consumers nationwide to avoid eating certain types of fresh tomatoes because of a possible link to a salmonella outbreak.
The FDA said a salmonellosis outbreak that has affected 145 people since mid-April in 16 states — none in Ohio as of yet — has been linked to consumption of certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes.
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Consumers may continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home, the FDA said. In addition, not all fresh Roma and plum tomatoes are off limits: the FDA has identified certain tomato-producing states, including California, whose production of Romas and other fresh tomatoes is not associated with the outbreak.
Lisa Grigsby, executive director of the Miami Valley Restaurant Association, said southwest Ohio restaurant suppliers including Sysco and Presto Foods are no longer delivering fresh tomatoes to restaurants, and many Dayton-area eateries have pulled all fresh tomatoes from their menus. Although the FDA's advisory does not include cherry or grape tomatoes, many restaurants are pulling those items as a precaution or to avoid customer confusion, Grigsby said.
Fast-food chains including McDonald's, Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill also have stopped offering toppings and condiments that include fresh tomatoes.
A spot-check of area grocery stores on Monday, June 9, showed several that have pulled some products from the shelves. Customers of the Kroger store at 530 E. Stroop Road in Kettering found a printed sign from store management in the produce section informing them that fresh Roma and plum tomatoes had been removed from the shelves "as a precautionary measure for the safety of our customers." The Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Kettering was selling fresh Roma tomatoes in bulk as usual, though the FDA has cleared Romas from certain states from suspicion of contamination.
José Manzano, produce manager for Dorothy Lane Markets, said his local chain's three stores pulled its Romas from shelves, but continue to sell hydroponically grown and other fresh tomatoes that are not under suspicion in the salmonella cases.
Comments
By painfultruth
June 10, 2008 10:03 AM | Link to this
Well, according to all the health “experts”, NOTHING is safe anymore! Plus, the typical person does not have the skills to properly determine risk. If someone says the sky is falling, they cower in belief! Oooh, I’m SCARED TO DEATH!!!
By Old Timer
June 10, 2008 9:43 AM | Link to this
Balderdash!!! 145 people out of how many millions who live in 16 states got sick over a two-month period and we adopt a “sky is falling” stance. More people than that were injured or got killed in auto accidents during the same period and we didn’t pull cars off the streets and highways. I’d say the odds against getting salmonella from eating tomatoes far outweigh the odds of getting it.
By Phil This
June 10, 2008 9:30 AM | Link to this
I was concerned at first. I ate a tomato and I started having a really bad sharting problem. But then I remembered I always have that problem.
By Tomatoe Girl
June 10, 2008 7:51 AM | Link to this
Helen Watkins, here is your answer…I was worried too, I love tomatoes:
Consumers may continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home, the FDA said.
By Helen H. Watkins
June 9, 2008 10:39 PM | Link to this
re the Meijers stores in Ohio removing the Roma tomatoes from their shelves….and if we purchased Roma tomatoes in the last several days, are they safe to eat?