Tomato consumer tips

With the outbreak from salmonella-tainted tomatoes in its fifth week, what's the latest consumer advice?

_Avoid raw red plum, red Roma or red round tomatoes unless they were grown in specific states or countries that Food and Drug Administration has cleared of suspicion. Check FDA's Web site _ http://www.fda.gov _ for an updated list. Also safe are grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.

_This outbreak aside, always choose tomatoes and other fresh produce without bruises or other damage.

_Keep uncut tomatoes at room temperature for best flavor _ but once sliced, tomatoes must be refrigerated promptly, to avoid bacterial growth.

_Wash fresh tomatoes under running water just before eating them.

Commercial tomato producers are urged to avoid washing warm or hot tomatoes in water that's more than 10 degrees cooler than the pulp. The temperature difference can make the tomato suck water in through the scar where its stem was, potentially bringing in surface germs like salmonella.

Salmonella can lurk in backyard gardens, too. But home gardeners tend to wash their tomatoes just before eating them. That means that even if germs from surface dirt sneak inside, they wouldn't have time to grow, says Virginia Tech food microbiologist Robert Williams. Still, to be cautious, he doesn't advise a dunk in cold water.

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On the Net:

FDA safe-produce advice: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/dms/prodsafe.html

Good heads up. Always wash every single fresh fruit or vegetable before serving or cooking.

There are all kinds of insects that live in the fruit or vegetable that needs to be eliminated.

Or if you live in the South, grow your own tomatoes. I bought some plants at Lowe's, put them in a large pot on my front walk, watered them everyday, and now I'm up to my ears in them. It's not that difficult.

The things grow like mad here. I get a LOT more than I can use every year, unless I start canning them, and I'd still have a surplus. I give lots of 'maters away.

Health warning widens to peppers

SENIORS, PEOPLE WITH WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEMS SAID AT RISK
By Jessie Mangaliman

Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/10/2008 01:30:55 AM PDT

Raw jalapeños, serranos and cilantro, key ingredients in Mexican cooking, are now being linked along with tomatoes to the outbreak of salmonella that has sickened more than 1,000 people nationwide and forced grocers to pull produce from their shelves.

On Wednesday, experts with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned seniors and people with compromised immune systems - the most at risk - to avoid eating the raw peppers and cilantro.

Scientists tracing the source of outbreak that began in April found that clusters of "illnesses were strongly associated with jalapeños," health officials said Wednesday.

The warning is similar to the early steps officials took with tomatoes after people became sick with a rare bacteria known as salmonella Saintpaul. That eventually led to the largest outbreak of food-borne illness in 10 years, and forced restaurants and grocers to temporarily pull certain varieties of tomatoes - plum, round and Roma - from their menus and shelves.

The FDA stopped short Wednesday of ordering the peppers or cilantro pulled from grocery shelves.

Investigators still have not ruled out tomatoes as a possible source, although they have cleared certain states and countries. The origin of the peppers that may be contaminated, whether domestic or abroad, is unknown, officials said.

"It's just been a spectacularly complicated and prolonged outbreak," said Dr. David Acheson, an FDA commissioner. "We're using all the tools we have to find out."

Unlike the warning about tomatoes, investigators know little about the specific types of jalapeños, serranos and cilantro suspected in the outbreak, said Dr. Robert Tauxe, CDC's deputy director of the division of food-borne, bacterial and mycotic diseases.

The addition of the peppers in the search has only deepened the public health mystery.

In an e-mail, jalapeño devotee Michael J. Hultquist, author of the book, "Jalapeño Madness," lamented the news and declared, "Yes, it is a sad day for jalapeños! As much as I'd love to defend the world's greatest chili pepper, I think safety is most important above all."

Gabriel Jimenez, store manager at Mi Pueblo on Story and King roads, said the store does not plan to withdraw the produce.

"We eat it every day," said Oscar Gonzalez, who bought a pound of jalapeños at Mi Pueblo late Wednesday afternoon. He was doing his weekly grocery shopping trip with his wife, Joanna Gonzalez, and their son, Oscar Jr.

He knew about the outbreak with tomatoes but, he said, it did not alter his family's habit of serving salsa - a raw mixture of chopped tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro and onions and lime juice.

Will the new health warning on jalapeños affect what he eats now?

"No, not really," he said. "They're good raw."