U.S. Health Officials Closer to Origin of Salmonella Outbreak

U.S. health officials said Wednesday they are zeroing in on a source for the recent outbreak of salmonella from contaminated tomatoes.

"The question is where specifically did these tomatoes come from," Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said during a teleconference Wednesday. "We're getting very close, but at this point, today, we don't know for sure where they did come from."

Parts of Florida are still under investigation, although northern Florida, which was not harvesting at the time the outbreaks began, has been ruled out as a source for the contamination.

Several other states have been excluded but, beyond that, Acheson said, "anywhere else is essentially open for question in terms of whether that is the source."

The number of people affected by the outbreak remains essentially flat, with 167 people from 17 states infected and 23 people ...