North Olympic Peninsula stores serve safe tomatoes, pull any on potentially harmful list
Employee William Fitzsimmons places Canadian tomatoes on the stand at Sunny Farms Country Store west of Sequim on Tuesday. The store’s tomatoes are on a list of brands known to be safe to eat. -- Photo by Chris Tucker/Peninsula Daily News
By Paige Dickerson, Peninsula Daily News
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But residents won't go without, since some varieties are considered safe.
Sunny Farms Country Store west of Sequim, Safeway Food and Drug stores in Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles, QFC in Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Hadlock and Albertsons in Port Angeles confirmed Tuesday that they have pulled some varieties from their shelves.
"We pulled the affected ones at the time, and now we have many for sale that are not in any way involved in the issue," said Donna Eggers, regional public affairs manager for Albertsons.
The Centers for Disease Control reported Monday that since mid-April, 167 people nationwide have been reported infected with an unusual type of salmonella bacteria called Salmonella Saintpaul.
No deaths have been reported.
Preliminary FDA findings suggest that raw red plum, raw red Roma or raw round red tomatoes have been the cause of the outbreaks.
The FDA has not yet determined the origin of the contaminated tomatoes.
"We hope that in the next few days we'll be in a position to identify the exact source," FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Seventeen states — including Washington, Oregon and Idaho — have reported cases of infection, with the largest number, 56, in Texas.
At least 23 people have been hospitalized.
Only one case was reported in Washington state.
A teenager from Okanogan County was reported infected with the rare strain of salmonella.
Only three people were infected nationwide in 2007 with Salmonella Saintpaul, the CDC said.
Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home are considered safe.
So, also, are tomatoes from Canada, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
Imports from Belgium, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands and Puerto Rico have also been determined safe for consumption, the CDC said.
On Tuesday, federal authorities cleared fresh tomatoes being harvested in Florida and all those grown in California — the nation's top two tomato-producing states.
No official recall
Albertsons' Egger emphasized that there has been no official recall of the tomato varieties.
"This was done out of an abundance of caution for our customers, and we are now waiting for some more guidance.
"We have cherry, grape and tomatoes with the vine attached which are deemed perfectly fine.
"We are waiting to see what happens.
QFC won't have bulk Romas, but Romas on the vine should be available, said QFC spokeswoman Kristin Maas.
"Recently, the FDA approved Canadian tomatoes as safe, so we are shipping all of those back to the stores," she added.
Many phone calls
Sunny Farms owner Roger Schmitt said the Sequim store had so many inquiries early in the morning asking about the origin of the store's tomatoes that the store removed some varieties as a precaution.
"We are featuring the hothouse tomatoes from British Colombia because we know for sure those are OK," he said.
"These types of issues get people really concerned — and rightfully so.
"But then, we do go overboard on the protection side just to make sure everything is safe."
Safeway spokeswoman Cherie Myers said that stores have an abundance of safe tomatoes available.
"We get shipments all the time, so the ones available in the stores now are safe," she said.
Produce managers at most of the nation's grocery chains removed some tomato varieties from the shelves, said the FDA.
McDonald's, Taco Bell, Wal-Mart and other national chains took similar action.
Advises cooking
Dr. Tom Locke, Clallam and Jefferson health officer, said that although consumers should be careful about tomatoes in light of the recent update, clean cooking practices should be sufficient to keep people safe.
"The No. 1 thing to do in terms of prevention has to do with good food handling," Locke said.
Washing tomatoes thoroughly, washing hands and cooking or canning tomatoes will reduce risk.
"Canning or cooking the tomatoes will totally eliminate the possibility of contracting it from the tomatoes," he said.
"But really, washing them and good food practices should keep most people safe enough."
He encouraged anyone who suspects infection to see a doctor.
"If more than one family member or member of a group that may have eaten the same food has episodes of diarrhea, that might be an indication of an infection by the bacteria," he said.
Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection.
The illness tends to last four to seven days.
Although most salmonella infections will clear up on their own, he said that tracking the disease is helpful for controlling outbreaks.
National health officials say that severe infection and even death is possible, with infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems at greatest risk.
Locke said that salmonella infections are more often associated with raw meat.
"Tomatoes are actually fairly resistant to it.
"Raw poultry in particular should be handled with care.
"Fully cook it, and be sure not to cross contaminate by using the same cutting board or knife on other food items that won't be cooked."
_________
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: June 10. 2008 9:00PM