06/10/2008
WASHINGTON -- The Food & Drug Administration is considering a plan that would allow tomatoes from certain certified counties in Florida to be shipped -- good news for some Florida growers grappling with a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that continues to expand to new states and has contributed to the death of one person so far.

In a strange turn of events, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced in a June 10 press release that all Florida-grown tomatoes have been deemed safe by FDA and would be added to FDA's safe-to-eat list that night. "I was confident Florida was not the problem and was not the source of the salmonella outbreak impacting other states," Commissioner Bronson said. But a FDA source told The Produce News June 10 that the state's crops have not all been cleared. We cannot support Bronson's statement at this time," he said. The whole state is not on the safety list." Certain northern Florida counties will be posted on the Web as not connected with the outbreak later tonight, said the FDA spokesman, who added that FDA is days away from pinpointing the source of the problem.

The number of people infected by Salmonella Saintpaul -- now 167 from 17 states -- continues to rise and, without any source specified, is forcing retailers and restaurants around the country to post signs alerting consumers that tomatoes are temporarily unavailable due to the outbreak. FDA is already being criticized for its response to the tomato crisis.

Texas (56 people) and New Mexico (39) lead the country in the number of cases infected with the rare Salmonella strain, but each day new reports of food-poisoning cases show that the outbreak is expanding: Arizona (12), California (2), Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (27), Indiana (7), Kansas (5), Michigan (2), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (3), Utah (1), Virginia (2), Washington (1) and Wisconsin (3).

An FDA spokesman said that the outbreak strain Salmonella Saintpaul was categorized as a contributing factor in the death of a Texas cancer patient. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is also investigating five cases in New York City, and the overall number of cases is expected to rise, he said.

FDA continues to advise consumers not to eat raw red Roma, plum and round tomatoes but has cleared the following production areas for those tomatoes: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Viriginia. Foreign shippers in Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico are also on the all-clear list.

One state missing from the all-clear list is Florida, but FDA is evaluating a plan that would allow Florida tomatoes from certain certified counties to ship their products, said an FDA source. These is no word yet on other production areas such as Virginia and Mexico.

In the meantime, large restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Taco Bell have removed all tomatoes from their menus nationwide.

While the produce industry suffers through another major food safety crisis, Congress is closely watching FDA's handling of the outbreak. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, sent FDA a letter June 9 questioning the agency's response to the outbreak.

"In reviewing the details of [FDA's June 7] press release, one could presume that the FDA could have requested a recall of the tomatoes that were linked to the outbreak," wrote Rep. DeLauro. "It would seem that these statements reveal an emphasis on protecting the industry and a lesser concern with protecting the consumer who may be at risk."

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) said he plans to ask FDA questions about its handling of the tomato outbreak at a June 12 congressional hearing.

One consumer representative also pointed the finger at FDA for the latest outbreak. "Since 2006, CSPI has been urging FDA to require all farms that feed the American public to have written food safety plans, but the FDA has not done that," said Sarah Klein, an staff attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "The result is yet another produce outbreak sickening consumers and dealing another setback to another important industry, which includes many growers who have implemented food safety measures."