Tainted Tomato Source May Never Be Found

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Federal officials said yesterday they might never find the farms that produced tainted tomatoes that have now sickened 228 people in 23 states with a rare form of salmonella.

“At this stage of the investigation there is no guarantee that we will be able to trace the outbreak back to the farm level although that is the goal,” the Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for foods, David Acheson, said yesterday.

The agency is still unsure of the geographic area that is the source of the contaminated fruit, though it has focused on growing regions in central Florida and Mexico.

Discovering the source of the salmonella would allow health officials to give the public an all clear on eating tomatoes and relieve the financial pressure on farmers, who are destroying fruit and losing millions of dollars because shoppers can’t figure out what tomatoes are safe to consume.

It also would provide crucial information that could prevent future outbreaks.


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