Remember what I was saying about “killer tomatoes vs. killer peppers“?

Today, in breaking news, the FDA has declared that tomatoes are now (relatively) safe to eat, citing that the chances that the tomatoes grown earlier in April and May 2008 are most likely no longer in circulation.

On the flip side, the FDA warns against consuming raw “hot peppers”, like jalapeño and serrano peppers.

Even more news involves the FDA tracking the investigation toward a Mexican produce packing house that has been aggregating peppers from a number of farms.

Just when you thought things were bogged down on the mysterious tomato-related Salmonellosis, the FDA and CDC seem to have turned yet another corner on the widespread illness. But rather than narrowing the search definitively, it seems that the search has widened.

In addition to tomatoes, the FDA is also investigating other components found in tomato-based mixtures, such as salsa and picante. The additional produce being considered are jalapeño and serrano peppers; so do not consume raw jalapeño and serrano peppers. At this time, no specific states or territories have been named with regard to their production farms, like what we’ve seen with the tomatoes.

A Little Bit More to Stalking the Killer Tomatoes to Florida and Mexico:

As the story on the exploration of the “tomato-related” Salmonellosis possibly being due to another cause(s) was being assembled, the FDA has released another announcement on their update page on the progress of their investigation, as a PDF transcript, that discusses the currently known statistics and the non-tomato produce.

The Setup

When the initial information about the afflicted persons came in, supposedly due to the tomato-related Salmonellosis, the serious cases were alleged to be salsa-, guacamole- and/or picante-related. While this was later translated to being due to tomatoes, what if it isn’t?

Why is this little detail so important? Because the number of cases continues to escalate despite the FDA’s and CDC’s attempts to identify and shut down any tomato-based sources for the Salmonellosis.

As of June 29, the updated reported numbers from the CDC are as follows:

Since April, 851 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These were identified because clinical laboratories in all states send Salmonella strains from ill persons to their State public health laboratory for characterization. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arkansas (10 persons), Arizona (39), California (10), Colorado (11), Connecticut (4), Florida (1), Georgia (18), Idaho (3), Illinois (91), Indiana (11), Kansas (14), Kentucky (1), Maine (1), Maryland (29), Massachusetts (21), Michigan (6), Minnesota (2), Missouri (12), New Hampshire (3), Nevada (4), New Jersey (4), New Mexico (90), New York (26), North Carolina (5), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (19), Oregon (10), Pennsylvania (8), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (346), Utah (2), Virginia (22), Vermont (2), Washington (4), Wisconsin (6), and the District of Columbia (1).

In comparison, in our previous Attack of the Killer Tomatoes update, the CDC’s 6/23/2008 infected patient count is 613 persons since tracking began in April 2008.

The Mystery Deepens

While assembling the research for “The Tomato Wars 2” story, I was curious about how the CDC and FDA were searching for the Salmonellosis source. Because, instead of tomatoes, what if it was due to at least one of the other components that you typically find in salsa and/or picante sauces? Things like garlic, onions, spring onions, hot and/or mild peppers, cilantro… any of these things could certainly harbor microorganisms. And, in fact, there is some activity in this avenue of inquiry (according to AP).

And, on another front, what if the tomatoes under suspicion are somehow still in circulation because they are getting repackaged over and over and redistributed to unsuspecting customers?

Fuddruckers: The Setup

A few days ago (this past Thursday (6/26/2008, ‘kay?)), I went over to Fuddruckers to celebrate Tom’s birthday.

Several days before that (on 6/15/2008, in fact), we’d gone over to Fudd’s, only to find out that they had yanked their tomatoes, due to the Salmonellois outbreak. As we sat in our large circular booth, munching on tomato-free half-pounders, I wondered how long it would take for the restaurant biz would regroup and bring tomatoes back.

Fuddruckers: The Premise

Earlier, several restaurant chains have sought public approval by announcing their (temporary) stoppages of using raw tomatoes in their dishes.

Now, despite the major tomato-related Salmonellosis warning updates, restaurants and restaurant chains still need to earn your money, right? So, a lot of ‘chains have attempted to restock fresh, raw tomatoes, either nationwide or in select markets.

Fuddruckers has recently joined the roster of restaurants which have started to restore raw tomatoes to their lineup of fixin’s. A lot of franchisees have gone through the effort of confirming their supply originations to make sure that they’re not receiving suspicious produce.

Fuddruckers: The Action

As I sat contentedly munching on my tomato-adorned half-pounder on Tom’s birthday, I was wondering how much longer this Salmonellosis outbreak will last, and who is the culprit in this major infectious disease mystery.

In Other (but Related) News: McDonald’s

A lot of you definitely enjoy dining at McDonald’s, so the news I reported here (back on 6/19/2008) about the still-unavailable fresh tomato supply at McDonald’s was certainly disappointing. This is despite the recent (6/14/2008???) announcement by McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud that sliced fresh tomatoes were expected back in restaurants in the 7-10 day timeframe.

While I haven’t confirmed firsthand that fresh, sliced tomatoes have truly migrated back into the local McDonald’s restaurants, other folks have mentioned that they have seen them on some sandwiches… but they themselves did not order any of those sandwiches.

If you have the opportunity to stop by a McDonald’s, get yourself a tomato-containing sandwich or burger, and let us know about your experience.

For folks who need that “extra ooomph” in explanations of potentially serious health risks (or because reading text may be somewhat… challenging), the FDA has prepared a one-page PDF that outlines the current state of affairs associated with their public activities surrounding the tomato-related Salmonellosis. While the events described in the PDF have been going on for the past several weeks, the posting date for the PDF appears to be June 27, 2008 (today’s date).

More Reading

These other Javamancy posts are listed in reverse chronological order:

The FDA is continuing its investigation on the tomato-associated Salmonellosis, and several FDA updates have occurred over the past weekend. Unfortunately, the M&M numbers continue to increase.

In addition to the FDA, the CDC and the Indian Health Service are also participating in the investigation.

Impacted Raw Tomato Types

The types of raw tomatoes affected by the outbreak has not changed. As previously mentioned, not only do the raw tomatoes themselves pose a risk, but also any products produced with these tomatoes in their raw form:

• Red plum tomatoes
• Red Roma tomatoes
• Round red tomatoes

Updated Map of Affected Persons

The CDC has continued to monitor the reported M&M numbers of infected patients, and as of 6/23/2008, there are 613 persons identified to be infected with the strain of Salmonella genetically associated with the outbreak since tracking began in April 2008.

From a graphical perspective, the CDC has an updated U.S. map of the M&M numbers, as well as descriptive text for the map. 

Updated List of “Safe” Tomato Producers

In addition, the following list of places producing tomatoes not associated with the outbreak has been updated again:

These other Javamancy posts are listed in reverse chronological order:

A Little Bit:

Earlier today, the FDA posted an announcement on their update page that their investigation on the tomato-associated Salmonellosis has traced the tomatoes linked to the outbreak to some farms in Florida and Mexico. A PDF transcript of the FDA briefing on their investigation is also available.

If you’ve been keeping track of the Salmonellosis tomato outbreak, you’ve probably heard rumors that some restaurants have started to carry “safe” tomatoes.

What you may not be aware of is that, while local restaurants have been able to secure enough tomatoes for their customers, the larger restaurant chains have a larger problem: getting enough tomatoes for all of their stores.

Since last week, Burger King [BKC] has resumed stocking tomatoes, although not necessarily in all markets.

This is in line with several other chains that have declared resuming their tomato supplies (but again, not necessarily in all markets):

However, McDonald’s [MCD] has chosen to not supply their restaurants with tomatoes until they can guarantee nationwide coverage. How does this impact consumer dining choices? When evaluating the menus, what is quite interesting is that a larger number of products in the McDonald’s menu do not incorporate fresh, raw tomatoes, compared to Burger King’s.

Big Boost to Your Friendly Neighborhood Tomato Farmer

In a related story, MSNBC reports that local farmers are getting an unexpected boost from the Salmonellosis tragedy. The reasoning is that, “Hey, if these commercial farms have all these contaminated tomatoes, let me try some of this locally grown stuff and hope it’s not the same as the commercial stuff…”

But with dramatically increased demand, that these growers keep up?

Quite an interesting twist to redeveloping business relationships between food producers and service retailers and the (direct) consumers.

More Reading

These other Javamancy posts are listed in reverse chronological order:

Still following the investigation chain regarding the Salmonellosis linked to raw tomatoes I discussed a several days ago? The FDA has updated its information on the tomato-based Salmonellosis yesterday.

The FDA update reiterates the danger associated with raw tomatoes of the following varieties (as well as products produced with these tomatoes in their raw form):

• Red plum tomatoes
• Red Roma tomatoes
• Round red tomatoes

In addition, the following list of places producing tomatoes not associated with the outbreak has been updated again: