Tomato salmonella outbreak hits 167 people in US

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — At least 167 people have been infected with salmonella from tainted tomatoes across 17 US states, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday, as growers warned the industry was "in complete collapse."

The government food regulator said that at least 23 people had been hospitalized for infection by Salmonella Saintpaul, a rare strain of the potentially fatal bacteria, with the source traced to raw red tomatoes.

The scare has forced supermarkets and restaurants across the country to pull tomatoes from their shelves and out of their sandwiches and salads.

The FDA warned consumers to avoid raw varieties of red plum, red Roma, and round red tomatoes believed to be the main source of the salmonella infections, the largest number of cases of...