Supermarkets and restaurants across Maryland are removing tomatoes from their shelves and menus after federal health officials warned of a widening outbreak of salmonella caused by some varieties of the fruit.
Tomatoes have sickened more than 140 people nationwide, and 23 have been hospitalized, since mid-April, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Consumers should avoid raw red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes, but may continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes and tomatoes with vines still attached, the FDA said. McDonald's announced yesterday that it has stopped putting tomato slices on its sandwiches but will still include grape tomatoes in its salads because the FDA considers them safe.
Salmonella is spread by bacteria that seep into the plant from the soil or from tainted water. Infections can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps, with symptoms appearing 12 hours to three days after infection. Symptoms can last four to seven days, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Washing a tomato can prevent salmonella, unless the bacterium has already penetrated the plant skin, usually through a crack or an opening near the stem.
Young children, frail and elderly people and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable. "It can be a very serious disease," said Lola Russell, a CDC spokeswoman.
No outbreak-related cases of salmonella have been reported in Maryland, health officials said. "At this stage, we have no evidence to believe any tomatoes in this state are implicated whatsoever," said Alan Brench, chief of food control for the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Supermarket chains, including Giant Foods, have pulled raw red plum, red Roma and round tomatoes from their shelves and customers may return tomatoes they have already purchased for refunds, said Jamie Miller, a spokesman for the Landover-based company.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes on the vine will remain available, he said.
The FDA published a list last week of states and countries ruled out as possible sources for the outbreak. The areas include California, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico. Plum, Roma and red round tomatoes from those areas are safe to eat, according to the FDA.
