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As FDA advisory is expanded, chains drop tomatoes

WASHINGTON Restaurant chains ranging from McDonald’s to Steak-Out have stopped serving sliced, cut or chopped tomatoes after the Food and Drug Administration extended an advisory against eating certain varieties nationwide. Raw red plum, Roma and large round tomatoes have been implicated in a salmonella outbreak that is believed to have sickened 167 persons, at least 23 of whom have been hospitalized.

The FDA still does not know the source of the outbreak, first noticed in Texas and New Mexico. States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak now include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

FDA has cleared raw red tomatoes grown and packaged in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. The updated list is available at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html#retailers.

The FDA said consumers can continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

Donna Garren, the National Restaurant Association's vice president of health and safety regulatory affairs, siad, "We have been working with the Food and Drug Administration officials to obtain information about the contamination source and get that information to our members."

Salmonella Saintpaul, the strain identified in the outbreak, is an uncommon variation. Like other salmonella pathogens, it can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly in young children; frail or elderly people; and those with weakened immune systems.

The FDA said healthy people often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, the organism can get into the bloodstream and produce more severe illnesses. Consumers who have recently eaten raw tomatoes or foods containing raw tomatoes and are experiencing any of these symptoms have been advised by health authorities to contact their health care provider.

The FDA said it was working with states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indian Health Service and various food industry trade associations to determine the source of the tomatoes associated with the outbreak.

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