My boys love raw tomatoes or “menos” as they were first dubbed by a toddler that would position himself in front of the cherry tomato section of a salad bar and eat until chased down by one of his humiliated parents.

So should they or shouldn’t they (and we) be eating tomatoes these days? Since mid-April, 167 people in 17 states have been infected with a rare strain of bacteria known as Salmonella Saintpaul, which has been linked to several kinds of raw tomatoes. Most of the cases have been in Texas and New Mexico, and 23 of them have required hospitalization.

McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Outback Steakhouse and Taco Bell have even voluntarily pulled tomatoes from their offerings.

Perhaps most scary — the FDA has even warned consumers to stop eating raw tomatoes – traditional, round, Roma or plum. Although the FDA website says there haven’t been problems with 19 states and 4 countries, it does say if you don’t know where the tomato came from, you shouldn’t eat it.

Of course, the North American tomato industry is absolutely gut-punched and the Florida tomato growers say the entire system is on the verge of collapse. Number one tomato producer Florida says $40 million worth of tomatoes will rot in the next few days unless the U.S. FDA traces the source of the outbreak and clears the produce.

Pretty scary stuff. My feelings? There will be no more toddler “meno” salad bar attacks in the near future. But, made of rough stuff as I am, I did actually eat all the tomatoes in my salad today. No tummy rumblings yet. I’ll let you know if I make it.

And — minor screed — some people (we like) are bashing the FDA, but I really think Congress is the problem. Since the early 1990s there’s been a strategy afoot to cash starve the agency to limit its ability to “meddle”. First put into place when Kessler started to take on the tobacco companies in the 1990s, this unfortunate but successful strategy is working.

Don’t blame the agency. FULLY AND APPROPRIATELY FUND THE U.S. FDA so they can quickly handle these sorts of matters. My bet is that these tomatoes are coming from abroad, but the poor FDA inspection service is so poorly staffed and funded, how would we know? Yet domestic agriculture is taking the hit.

Other tomato conversations:

Shakesville, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

I guess this places bruschetta and BLT’s on the endangered species list for the time being until the safe tomato population gets its act together.

Alana Kellogg, food editor on BlogHer, It’s Summer Tomato Time — Or Is It?

Are you thinking it’s much ado about nothing, that hey, life is risky and what’s a little tomato compared to stuff like global warming, skyrocketing food prices, $4 a gallon gasoline, healthcare and education issues, childhood obesity, earthquakes in China, floods in the Midwest, who the Bachelorette’s going to knock off this week?

Wine Before Dinner, The Salmonella Tomato Scare

If American establishments would buy tomatoes grown in America, this Salmonella Scare would have never happened. This is nothing against Mexico, it’s hard working people, and their farmers. I just think that produce being shipped from that far away has to go through many hands, trucks, crates, etc. The farther these things travel the better chance they have of becoming contaminated.

Wall Street Fighter, The 2008 Tomato Scare

If some film studio decided to make a major motion picture about ‘Tomato Scare ‘08″, I bet there will be a dramatic scene in there where someone runs into the Tomato factory and screams at the top of their lungs, “Stop the picking and packing machines!” Then he’ll probably slam on some bright red emergency stop button, which should be in the shape of a large cartoon tomato.

1. Sara Says:
   June 10th, 2008 at 4:41pm

   The FDA certainly makes an easy and convenient target. But, if the budget is sliced, how WILL food safety be reinforced?

   An interesting sidebar is an article I saw on irradiation. Although not popular among many natural/local/organic afficianados, irradiation would likely have prevented most or all of the salmonella cases.

   This also begs the question about food traceability–a topic for another post…..

   All this makes me glad that I’ve got a garden.



2. Jill in Atlanta Says:
   June 11th, 2008 at 9:15am

   Cherry and grape tomatoes are still considered fine. Your own link says so! Keep them boys eating their ‘matoes! (And plant some of your own!)



3. Jennifer F Says:
   June 11th, 2008 at 11:00am

   I’ve been eating the tomatoes in my salads for the past couple days, and I have no intention of stopping. For the record, I feel fine. However, you are right. The FDA is getting a lot of heat, and not enough support. Food Safety is not one of Congress’ main concerns, and it doesn’t look like it will be in the near future. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/40536.html



4. gloria Says:
   June 11th, 2008 at 12:52pm

   The Bush administration has asked Congress to give the Food and Drug Administration an additional $275 million in next year’s budget for food safety. Is that enough, you think? It looks like a hefty sum, until you compare it to the $178 billion on the war-funding bill currently in front of Congress. Oh, what what great things this country could do if such funds were being spent wisely at home!



5. Suzanne Says:
   June 12th, 2008 at 10:18am

   So, does the Washington Post and New York Times read Down to Earth? Both papers ran pieces today saying what I said here yesterday.

   WashPost: Rotten Tomatoes
   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/11/AR2008061103406.html

   NYT: Now It’s Tomatoes
   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/opinion/12thu3.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=tomatoes&st=nyt&oref=slogin



6. Rachel Says:
   June 12th, 2008 at 6:54pm

   How many cases of contaminate food will it take before people start taking their food production into their own hands. My extended family thinks I am off the deep end with gardening, but I’m having fresh tomatoes tonight, and they’re not.

   Everybody doesn’t have to product ALL of their own food, but this generation seems to want to outsource anything that smacks remotely of hard labor



7. Sara Says:
   June 12th, 2008 at 8:30pm

   As of tonight, there are more reports of tomato-related Salmonella illness. The FDA is directing people to their site for a list of cleared production localities. (I’m so relieved that I can eat tomatoes grown in Belgium).

   One thing I have been wondering about is how much of this is really due to “industrial scale agriculture”? In the “good old days”, people had MORE food-borne illnesses than we have today, but because food was produced more locally and on a smaller scale, there were not nationwide scares like this one. On the other hand, when food was locally grown, there was a level of accountability and direct involvement with the consumers of your product that does not exist today. So, now we have fewer problems, but they are more spectacular when they happen.