Salmonella in tomatoes. Anyone know if it is on the outside and can be safely washed off? nm

[rhett o rick]

[robinlynne]

1. I wouldn't count on it. skip the tomatoes for a week or two till it's cleared up.

[Warpy]

13. Or can them

Salmonella is not a spore forming bacteria and will be killed by hot water canning methods.

Or just cut them up and use them in a fresh tomato sauce with pasta.

It's not necessary to throw them out. Just cook them thoroughly.

[NightWatcher]

2. I dont know if it can be washed off, but luckily we've found a lcal source

we had sqush and zuccini this weekend that actually tasted (and smelled) like veggies. The apples smell like apples and not parafin wax. They said their stuff comes from an organic farm 30 miles away.

Try to buy local. More people are doing it.

[ingac70]

3. No. It can't be washed off. n/t

[MNDemNY]

4. Cook 'em.

[izquierdista]

5. Yes

It can be washed off, but be careful you don't have a bruised tomato. The peel is important protection that keeps the whole fruit from being contaminated. You can also add a little bleach to your wash water. Not enough to give a yucky chlorine taste to your salad, but enough to act as a disinfectant. A tablespoon to a gallon of wash water should work.

From my time living in Mexico, I learned much about how to wash vegetables properly, especially when you have water of dubious quality. I found that one 1" clorinating tablet, like the kind used for swimming pools would clear up a 10,000 gallon pila (cistern) just fine.

The other thing that will work, if you like your tomatoes peeled, is to immerse them in boiling water long enough to make the skin slip off easily. That will also kill off any bacteria on the outside.

[MidwestTransplant]

7. Supposedly its not guaranteed with this because when the tomatoes are dropped in cold water

after being picked, the bacteria can be drawn into the skin so washing won't do it. They have to be cooked to some degree.

[stray cat]

8. My understanding is the bacteria is within the skin of the vegetable

whether spinach or in this case tomatoes.

[nykym]

6. No although

washing your fruits & veggies is a good idea it won't lessen the chances. I believe tomatoes on the vine are OK as well as cherry or grape tomatoes or of course organically grown from a local farm.

[eilen]

18. They are not in season yet where I live

I'll eat them when they turn up in my garden or for sale at the farmstand locally.

[whistle]

9. Yes unless the tomato has cuts and bruises, then cut out the section that is damaged

[whistle]

10. Too much contradiction in the posts, here is a piece that will clarify

<snip>
SALMONELLA
(Salmonellosis)

Visit the Germ Protection Center Archives

OVERVIEW

Salmonellosis or a Salmonella infection is the most frequently reported cause of foodborne illness. It is a bacterial disease manifested by an acute enterocolitis with the sudden onset of headache, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes vomiting.

The Salmonella germ is actually a group of over 2300 serotypes of Gram negative bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness in humans. They are microscopic living creatures that pass from the feces of people or animals, to other people or other animals. There are many different kinds of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella serotype typhimurium and Salmonella serotype enteritidis are the most common in the United States. Salmonella has been known to cause illness for over 100 years. They were discovered by an American scientist named Dr. Daniel E. Salmon, for whom they are named.

Salmonellosis is the illness that can occur if live Salmonella bacteria enter the body, usually through eating foods containing the bacterium. It is one of the most common bacterial foodborne illnesses, that can be prevented by proper food handling, hand washing and food contact surface cleaning and sanitization.

Every year, approximately 40,000 cases of Salmonellosis are reported in the United States. However, experts believe that anywhere from 696,000 to 3.8 million people contact Salmonellosis each year. Salmonellosis is more common in the summer than winter. Children are the most likely to get Salmonellosis. Young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised are the most likely to have severe infections. It is estimated that approximately 600 persons die each year with acute Salmonellosis.




EPIDEMIOLOGY


RESERVOIR
Bacteria can grow on just about any food, such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products, in particular, as well as vegetables and fruits, such as beans, grains, orange juice, cantaloupe and sprouts. Most types of Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals and birds and are transmitted to humans by contaminated foods of animal origin.

MODE OF TRANSMISSION


Salmonella is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. Eating inadequately cooked or improperly refrigerated poultry, milk, eggs or meats can cause infection. Person-to-person transmission can also occur as individuals who are chronic carriers of the germ may transmit it if good personal hygiene is not followed. Outbreaks of disease have occurred via food contaminated by the unwashed hands of an infected food handler, who forgot to wash their hands with soap and water after using the bathroom.

Salmonella may also be found in the feces of some pets, especially those with diarrhea, and people can become infected if they do not wash their hands after contact with these feces. Reptiles are particularly likely to harbor Salmonella and people should always wash their hands immediately after handling a reptile, even if the reptile is healthy. Adults should also be careful that children wash their hands after handling a reptile.



TREATMENT

Salmonella infections usually resolve in 5-7 days and often do not require treatment unless the patient becomes severely dehydrated or the infection spreads from the intestines. Persons with severe diarrhea may require rehydration, often with intravenous fluids. Antibiotics are NOT usually necessary unless the infection spreads from the intestines, then it can be treated with ampicillin, gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, or ciprofloxacin. Unfortunately, some Salmonella bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics, largely as a result of the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of feed animals.


Treat pain and fever with acetaminophen (TYLENOL®) or similar product.


The use of a hot water bottle may help reduce stomach cramps.


Eat 5-6 small meals daily starting with clear liquids and advancing the diet as tolerated.





INCUBATION PERIOD
Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

METHODS OF CONTROL

Since foods of animal origin may be contaminated with Salmonella, people should not eat raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, or meat.

Raw eggs may be unrecognized in some foods such as homemade hollandaise sauce, Caesar and other homemade salad dressings, tiramisu, homemade ice cream, homemade mayonnaise, cookie dough, and frostings.

Poultry and meat, including hamburgers, should be well-cooked, not pink in the middle. Persons also should not consume raw or unpasteurized milk or other dairy products. Produce should be thoroughly washed before consuming.

Cross-contamination of foods should be avoided. Uncooked meats should be kept separate from produce, cooked foods, and ready-to-eat foods.

Cutting boards, counters, knives, and other utensils should be washed thoroughly and sanitized or disinfected after handling uncooked foods.


Hands should be washed before handling any food, and between handling different food items.

People who have Salmonellosis should not prepare food or pour water for others until they have been shown to no longer be carrying the Salmonella bacterium. This requires that 2-3 consecutive stool cultures collected not less than 24 hours apart are shown to be negative for Salmonella.

People should wash their hands after contact with animal feces. Since reptiles are particularly likely to have Salmonella, everyone should immediately wash their hands after handling reptiles. Reptiles (including turtles) are not appropriate pets for small children and should not be in the same house as an infant.

The basic premise for control is;

CLEAN : Wash Hands and Wash Sanitize Surfaces Often


SEPARATE : Don’t Cross-Contaminate


COOK : Cook all foods to Proper Temperatures


CHILL: Refrigerate Promptly




ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

For more information about reducing the risk of foodborne illness, visit the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service website at:

www.fsis.usda.gov
or the partnership for Food Safety Education at:
www.fightbac.org.

For more advice on cooking ground beef, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture web site at: www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/topics/gb.htm


Or USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-800-535-4555



http://www.vnaa.org/vnaa/g/?h=html/germ_protection_center_salmonella

[izquierdista]

12. Above all

Don't kiss the turtle!

[kestrel91316]

11. California tomatoes are unaffected, from what I have heard. They will

be "coming online" within a couple of weeks.

My guess is they are gonna trace the contamination to imported tomatoes. This time ouf year our imported tomatoes come from (drumroll, please)..........Mexico.

[cosmik debris]

14. I took mine back to the store for a refund.

Safe and economical.

[rhett o rick]

15. It is important to know if the bacteria is on the skin, in the skin or in the fruit.

I have been unsuccessful in finding this out. Most of us only worry about bacteria on the outside and think if we wash properly we will be safe. This is not always the case. Not too long ago there was an ecoli problem with spinach. The ecoli was internal to the plant and could not be washed off.

[RedEarth]

16. No....... here's an article I ran across today...... To Foil Salmonella, Cook Your Tomatoes

To Foil Salmonella, Cook Your Tomatoes
The porous skin won't necessarily keep bad bugs out
By Nancy Shute
Posted June 10, 2008


Why doesn't washing tomatoes make them safe to eat? That's Question No. 1 as restaurants and supermarkets dump fresh tomatoes, and federal inspectors race to pinpoint the source of a salmonella outbreak in fresh tomatoes that has spread to 17 states, sickening at least 167 people.

The unpleasant answer: Bad bugs like salmonella don't just lie on the surface of plants. They may also enter in, where they can’t be washed away or killed by sterilizing solutions commonly used in produce processing. Some state and local health departments, as well as news media, have reported that it's OK to eat tomatoes as long as they’ve been washed. Not so, says Doug Powell, a plant pathologist and director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University. Tomatoes and canteloupes, which both have soft, porous skin, can absorb water during processing, and also may absorb pathogens in irrigation water. It's not known if that happened in this case, Powell says. But that's all the more reason to shun tomatoes. "In these situations, it's important to say that washing's not enough. You gotta cook it."

The bugs-in-hiding problem surfaced in September 2006, when e. coli contamination in fresh spinach sickened at least 200 people and killed several. The strain was traced to cattle in nearby fields, as well as a wild boar. But that was just the most visible of dozens of instances in which spinach or other fresh greens had become contaminated. Since 1995, there have been at least 20 outbreaks associated with leafy greens, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Nonleafy produce has its problems, too. This February, canteloupes sold in California were recalled because they were tainted with salmonella. Powell's blog, with the wonderful name of barfblog, is a great source for solid scientific advice on food safety.

The FDA has listed tomato-producing states that aren't implicated in the outbreak so far, but in many cases it's impossible to figure out where supermarket tomatoes come from.

Buying organic doesn't guarantee that fruits and veggies are pathogen-free; neither does buying produce in a farmer's market, since in some markets farmers can sell products they've bought from wholesalers. Growing your own would be good, but hurry; the tomato plants are all but gone at most local garden stores. The safest bet: Cooked tomatoes. Canned is fine. So are fresh tomatoes that have been cooked to the boiling point, since heating past 160 degrees kills pathogens.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/06/10/to-foil-salmonella-cook-your-tomatoes.html

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Grainger County Tomatoes

I grew up near there. My parents still live near there. Grainger County Tennessee the best tomatoes in the world so they say. I'm not a big fan of tomatoes in general. They did a story on the local news there that Grainger County Tomatoes were safe to eat. The restaurants in cities around Grainger County, Knoxville and Bristol are switching to them if they can get them.

David

[Karenina]

19. Thanks for the question

and thanks for the answers! More questions...

Salmonella is quite common, so WHY the hysteria? Cooking KILLS it so how come the industry is suddenly reeling??? :shrug:

[cosmik debris]

20. Salmonella has disproportional effect on the old and young

and those with compromised immune systems. So, even though it is common and healthy people recover quite quickly, it is fatal many times.

It is only the FRESH fruit portion of the industry that is having problems. Cooked tomatoes don't work too well on a salad or a BLT.