Locally grown tomatoes are safe to eat, officials say

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by ANGELA BRECK Shoppers were out at the La Plata farmers market Saturday. Some customers have asked vendors about the salmonella outbreak, according to Joe Harrison, the marketmaster. ‘‘It comes up in the conversation once in awhile, then people say, ‘Give me two bags of tomatoes,’” he says. ‘‘They don’t seem to be worried about it.” E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The outbreak of this particular strain of the bacterial disease, salmonella Saintpaul, was first discovered in April by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak has been traced to red plum, red roma and round red tomatoes originating from certain farms in Mexico and Florida, according to FDA officials. Cherry and grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold on the vine attached and homegrown tomatoes have been deemed safe to eat by federal health officials.

The FDA is now trying to narrow down the source of the outbreak by sending teams to Mexico and Florida this week and other critical points along the supply chain where the tomatoes might have been contaminated, according to a FDA press release.

Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia have been impacted by the outbreak, according to CDC officials.

Charles County has not had any reports of the outbreak, largely because many of the tomatoes sold and served in establishments in the county are locally grown, said Bill Leebel, public information officer for the Charles County Department of Health.

‘‘We’ve been told that all the local tomatoes are safe,” he said, adding that the outbreak is diminishing. ‘‘It seems to be subsiding. The first and second week in June was the peak for the outbreak.”

Leebel said that salmonella is a bacterial disease that causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pains that usually subside without medical care within four to seven days. The very young, very old and people with compromised immune systems, such as diabetes, might have a more difficult time recovering from exposure to the bacteria.

If symptoms last longer than seven days, a doctor’s advice should be sought because the bacteria can spread to the blood system, Leebel said.

‘‘If it stays in the digestive system it takes care of itself,” he said. ‘‘When it jumps into the blood system it could be an emergency situation that requires antibiotics.”

The infection is diagnosed by a culture of a stool sample, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The best defense against contracting food-borne bacteria is to thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables as soon as they are brought home from the store, Leebel said.

‘‘The bottom line is that it’s a raw food and it needs to be washed very well,” he said. ‘‘Wash fruit and vegetables right away, and if you’re not sure about it throw it away.”

State health officials caution consumers to refrigerate fresh produce within two hours of purchasing it, avoiding buying bruised or damaged tomatoes and keep them separate from raw meats, seafood and other produce items.

Local grocery food chains took the precaution to remove red plum, red roma and red round tomatoes from their shelves at the beginning of the outbreak in June, including Safeway and Giant.

‘‘At this point we’ll continue to work with our suppliers, but for now the FDA has decided that the tomatoes are safe,” said Jamie Miller, public affairs officer for Giant in Landover.

‘‘About a week to 10 days ago we did take some tomatoes off the shelves as a precaution,” said Greg TenEyck, Safeway’s director of public affairs for the company’s Eastern Division. ‘‘We’re now getting tomatoes from other areas, and we’ve restocked our shelves.”

Both stores buy locally grown produce when it is in season, the men said.

The La Plata Farmers Market on Washington Avenue has not felt the pinch from the outbreak, said Joe Harrison, marketmaster.

‘‘We haven’t had any problems,” he said. ‘‘People love tomatoes and they keep buying them.”

Harrison said most of the market’s tomatoes are grown locally. Tomatoes are in season in St. Mary’s County and the Amish community in both Charles and St. Mary’s County are beginning to harvest crops, Harrison said.

Some customers have asked vendors about the salmonella outbreak, Harrison said.

‘‘It comes up in the conversation once in awhile, then people say, ‘Give me two bags of tomatoes,’” he said, laughing. ‘‘They don’t seem to be worried about it.”

Local restaurants have also taken some precautions about serving raw tomatoes to customers, including Napoli Pizzeria in Waldorf.

‘‘We did stop using them for awhile; at the time we just used cherry tomatoes,” said Cynthia Skaltsis, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Pete.

‘‘We haven’t had any problems,” said Nicola Caniglia, co-manager of Mama Mia’s Pizzas in Waldorf. ‘‘We don’t have a lot of requests for tomatoes, and the vendor that we buy from is safe.”

Joseph Gressis, owner of Ouzo’s Greek & Regional Cuisine in La Plata, said some of his customers have expressed concern about the outbreak.

‘‘A lot of people say that they just don’t want tomatoes in their dishes and they have concerns with food that has tomatoes in it,” he said. ‘‘With the economy the way it is this hasn’t helped at all.”

Gressis said that he uses tomatoes grown locally by the Amish community whenever possible.

‘‘Right now, it’s good for us because we’re able to get a lot of locally grown produce.”

The salmonella outbreak has actually caused a boost in the sale of locally grown tomatoes, said Ben Beale of the University of Maryland’s Cooperative Extension Service in St. Mary’s County.

In 2006, Maryland grew 12 million pounds of tomatoes valued at $6 million on 1,000 acres, according to a Maryland Department of Agriculture press release.

‘‘The sales of locally grown tomatoes have increased due in part to the fact that Maryland tomatoes have been deemed safe by the FDA,” Beale said. ‘‘Folks like to know where their produce is coming from.”

Know yourtomatoes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to consumers nationwide that an outbreak of salmonella Saintpaul, including 18 cases in Maryland, has been linked to the consumption of some raw red plum, red roma and round red tomatoes and products that contains these types of tomatoes.

For information about the outbreak of salmonella Saintpaul in tomatoes go to the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Web site at www.mda.state.md.us and click on the Hot Topics link regarding tomatoes, the FDA’s Web site at www.fda.gov⁄oc⁄opacom⁄hottopics⁄tomatoes.html or the Centersfor Disease Control’s site at www.cdc.gov⁄Salmonella⁄saintpaul⁄ or call 404-639-3311.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com