ABC News
An outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to raw tomatoes has been traced to Mexico and Florida, according to federal health officials. Officials today said they will send teams of investigators to Mexico and Florida this weekend. They would not identify the farms that are being investigated, stressing that salmonella contamination could have occurred somewhere later along the distribution line.
“We don’t know for certain that the contamination occurred on a farm,” said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration. “The contamination could have occurred upstream of the farm, in a distribution center, or the packing shed or warehouse. And it’s important that we inspect in those areas to rule that out. We cannot assume that the contamination has occurred on a farm.”
A cluster of 285 salmonella cases has been reported in Texas in the past week, and federal and state officials there are working to determine the cause. All told, authorities have identified 552 people infected with salmonella in 32 states and the District of Columbia since April 10, according to the Centers for Disease Control. More than 50 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been attributed to the outbreak. More
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