Food Safety Focus (24th Issue, July 2008) – Food Incident Highlight
Salmonella and Tomato
In early June 2008, the United States (US) Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) warned the public not to eat certain red plum, red Roma and round red varieties of raw tomatoes in the US because they might be linked to outbreak of disease caused by Salmonella Saintpaul, an uncommon type of Salmonella. It was reported that at least 1 017 cases and 203 hospitalizations were caused by this particular type of Salmonella in some tomatoes in US since mid-April. The Centre for Food Safety is closely monitoring the situation and has taken samples for analysis. The test results were all satisfactory.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can be found in the intestinal tract of humans and both wild and domestic animals (including poultry, pigs and pets like dogs, cats and reptiles). Generally, Salmonella is more commonly found in beef, pork, poultry, milk, eggs and their products, but produce may be contaminated during the farming processes by manure, contaminated water, wild animals or workers. By eating raw (including raw tomatoes) or under-cooked food that contains the bacteria or by consuming cooked ready-to-eat food that had been cross-contaminated with Salmonella from other foods or infected humans, food poisoning can occur. The incubation period is from 6 to 48 hours, usually about 12 to 36 hours. The symptoms, which include nausea, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting, are more severe in infants and the elderly. Salmonella present in raw food can be destroyed by cooking thoroughly, but care should be taken to prevent re-contamination with Salmonella.
Consumers should follow the CFS advice in preparing tomatoes for raw consumption. Once tomatoes are contaminated with Salmonella, it can be difficult to remove all the surface bacteria by washing. Therefore, the elderly, children, pregnant women and persons with lowered immunity should be careful when choosing food, especially high risk foods such as salads (including those with raw tomatoes).
Illustrations: Tomatoes implicated in the Salmonella outbreak in the USA (Photo: US FDA)
FAQs
Contamination sources, including irrigation water, soil amendments, and postharvest handling have been shown to contribute to an increased risk of contamination. Multiple factors contribute to the persistence and proliferation of Salmonella in and on tomato fruit.
How do you prevent Salmonella in tomatoes? ›
Cooking tomatoes at 145 degrees will kill salmonella.
What disease does Salmonella cause? ›
What illness do people get from Salmonella infection? Most types of Salmonella cause an illness called salmonellosis, which is the focus of this website. Some other types of Salmonella cause typhoid fever or paratyphoid fever.
Is E coli found on tomatoes? ›
coli O157:H7 (Eribo and Ashenafi, 2003) can grow well on tomatoes, although tomatoes are not a good reservoir of L. monocytogenes (Beuchat and Brackett, 1991). These characteristics may explain why most outbreaks linked to tomatoes are associated with Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 (Valadez et al., 2012).
Can you get Salmonella from raw tomatoes? ›
Once tomatoes are contaminated with Salmonella, it can be difficult to remove all the surface bacteria by washing. Therefore, the elderly, children, pregnant women and persons with lowered immunity should be careful when choosing food, especially high risk foods such as salads (including those with raw tomatoes).
Are tomatoes safe to eat? ›
There might be some risks associated with tomatoes, depending on your health status. Most people, though, can eat both raw and cooked tomatoes as part of a balanced diet. Talk with a healthcare provider to figure out if tomatoes and their nutrients, like lycopene, can help with a specific health condition.
What kills Salmonella naturally? ›
Washington, D.C.—Tomato juice can kill Salmonella Typhi and other bacteria that can harm people's digestive and urinary tract health, according to research published this week in Microbiology Spectrum, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
Does Salmonella go away? ›
Most people don't need to seek medical attention for salmonella infection because it clears up on its own within a few days.
What are 4 symptoms of Salmonella? ›
Symptoms of a salmonella infection usually include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, chills, headache, nausea, or vomiting. Treatment may not be needed unless dehydration happens or the infection doesn't get better.
What bacteria grows in tomatoes? ›
Where does bacterial spot come from? Bacterial spot of tomato is caused by Xanthom*onas vesicatoria, Xanthom*onas euvesicatoria, Xanthom*onas gardneri, and Xanthom*onas perforans. These bacterial pathogens can be introduced into a garden on contaminated seed and transplants, which may or may not show symptoms.
Outbreaks of salmonellosis associated with eating uncooked tomatoes: Implications for public health.
What bacteria spoils tomatoes? ›
Fungi affecting tomatoes include Aspergillus phoenicis, Absidia spp, Trichoderma spp, Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium moniliformis, Aspergilli us niger, Mucor spp, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium spp, Geotrichum spp and Phytophthora spp (Etebu et al, 2013). ...
How do vegetables get contaminated with Salmonella? ›
Primary production is probably the main concern area as vegetables are mostly grown and in contact with soil. Undesirable agricultural practices such as using improperly treated animal manure and irrigating with contaminated water may introduce foodborne pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli to the produce.
Where does Salmonella come from on plants? ›
Salmonella usually enters agricultural environments via animal feces. Animals can directly contaminate plants or surface water used for irrigation and pesticide or fertilizer diluent through contaminated feces.
What is the cause of the tomato virus? ›
Tomato flu is a communicable disease that can occur due to the consumption of spoiled or contaminated tomatoes. It is believed that the flu is highly infectious and affects the children between the age group 1-9 years.
Why were tomatoes once considered poisonous? ›
The acidic tomato leached lead from the plate, which, when consumed, caused lead poisoning. People blamed the fruit rather than the pewter plates. Another factor in the long history of fear of tomatoes can be traced back to Italian herbalist Pietro Andrae Matthioli.
