More than 1200 people have been infected since the Salmonella infection outbreak. On July 17th the FDA removed the salmonella-infected tomato warning. They still don’t know the cause of the outbreak but they no longer think that the tomatoes are infected. Sarah Hills of Food Navigator USA wrote about the affects of the salmonella infection on the tomato industry and the consumers. 

The cost of this outbreak:

The outbreak, which began in April, has cost the industry an estimated $100 million.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll said that nearly half of consumers have changed their eating and buying habits in the past six months because they’re afraid they could become ill from eating contaminated food.

Forty six percent said they avoided buying foods they would normally buy because of warnings about the safety of particular types of food and 45 percent said they were less likely to eat fresh tomatoes.

The poll results also showed that 86 percent said produce should be labeled so it can be tracked through each stage from processors back to the farm, an issue which has divided the industry. And 80 percent supported establishing stricter federal safety standards for fresh produce.

How are they trying to control this outbreak?

Last week, the FDA released a progress report on its six-month-old Food Protection Plan. One of the recommendations is that the FDA should have the authority to impose stringent handling controls on fresh produce growers and suppliers to avert the outbreak of Salmonella, E. coli and other illness-causing pathogens. 

More information can be found here.