by Joan Murphy
11/28/2006
WASHINGTON -- The Food & Drug Administration is now investigating two tomato-related outbreaks, with the latest blamed for nearly 100 illnesses in 19 states.
"It's been a busy year," Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, said when referring to the earlier tomato outbreak and the California spinach investigation.
Ninety-eight people in 19 states located mainly in the eastern portion of the United States have been infected with Salmonella newport, said CDC. Cases from this outbreak surfaced in June and ended Oct. 20, leading federal health officials to focus on tomatoes eaten in restaurants and served in most cases during the early fall months.
While the outbreak appears over, health officials are continuing surveillance and FDA is conducting a traceback of tomato suppliers to discover the cause. FDA was already tracing tomatoes involved in another outbreak involving 183 people in 21 states. Federal authorities said that fresh tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium served in restaurants were the likely cause of that outbreak.
"Two outbreaks at the same time is most likely an unfortunate coincidence," said Amy Philpott, vice president of marketing and industry relations for the United Fresh Produce Association in Washington. "There are no common links between the two outbreaks reported at this time, and there are different serotypes of Salmonella involved in each outbreak."
Ms. Philpott added, "FDA has determined that both outbreaks are over and now traceback investigations are in progress in both cases."
Bill Marler, an attorney with Seattle-based Marler Clark, said that the tomato industry should be more vigilant to prevent contamination on the farm, since it is virtually impossible to clean the fruit once it's been contaminated.
Mr. Marler has settled 149 cases from the 2004 Sheetz Salmonella outbreak tied to Roma tomatoes and is representing 93 victims in the more recent E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach. Since the spinach contamination, the trial attorney said that he has been in high demand for speaking engagements around the country on the topic of produce safety.
Salmonella can enter tomato plants through roots or flowers and can enter the fruit through small cracks, according to CDC. It is still unknown whether Salmonella can travel from roots to the fruits or if seeds can contaminate generations of tomato plants.
Salmonella newport has been linked to other outbreaks in the past. More than 500 people became sick during August and September 2002 after eating tomatoes contaminated with Salmonella newport, and investigators traced back the tomatoes to a tomato packing facility in the mid-Atlantic region. Inspections of that packing facility revealed numerous violations of Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices, said FDA.
