Tuesday, June 3, 2008 , Updated
Dallas County Health and Human Services investigating salmonella on raw tomatoes
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) is assisting with a multistate investigation of an outbreak of relatively rare species of Salmonella bacteria known as the Saintpaul strain. DCHHS epidemiologists are working in partnership with multiple federal, state and local agencies to identify the source of the outbreak.
"DCHHS epidemiologists are coordinating our efforts with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), Texas Department of State Health Services and local health departments from across Texas to pinpoint the exact source of the implicated tomatoes,” said Zachary Thompson, DCHHS Director.
To date, there have been 21 cases of the Saintpaul strain of the Salmonella bacteria reported in Texas. The majority of these cases have been reported in Harris County but a few cases also reported in Dallas, Tarrant, Cameron, Fort Bend, and Hays counties. State Health authorities say the investigation is in its early stages but that consumption of raw tomatoes is the likely source of infection. Specific type and source of tomatoes are under investigation.
"DCHHS has received reports of four cases in Dallas County," said Dr. Wendy Chung, DCHHS Chief Epidemiologist.
Source: Dallas County
Kay, says:
Great! Just splendid! Just as the peak "salad season" gets here. When do you suppose they will publish anything about WHERE these tainted tomatoes are grown? sold?
They gotta know more than they are telling us right now...they a-l-w-a-y-s do!
:::Doing a search on SaintPaul's:::
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
Dirty tomatoes... Both large and Roma are implicated.
36 folks in New Mexico confirmed...21 in Texas. Who knows how many in the other 7 states? Wouldn't be surprised if it's bigger than this. Can you say "spinach"?
COOK your raw tomatoes for 15 seconds (at least) at 145 degrees F, to kill salmonella --- this is what they are suggesting.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
DC, says:
I know where you can get some! Staphylococcus works well, too!
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
rozy, says:
its definitely bigger! We came thru Dallas airport en route to Hawaii on May 12th and ate raw tomatos in an airport restaurant on a chicken salad sandwich! my partner was sick for 4 days - diarrhea, stomach cramps... -- basically the entire time we were in HA! i think they owe us another trip!
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
Wal-Mart is the only store I recognize in the articles, so far. (Unless Lowe's actually sells tomatoes in Texas)
http://thepacker.com/icms/_dtaa2/cont...
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
rosy, I agree! That's just awful! How often does one get to Hawaii? You might do some investigating on compensation from the headquarters of the 'eatery' at the Airport.
(I understand Quiznos sandwich place also had a similar problem last Fall with tomatoes on their sandwiches.)
This STARTED the end of April and we are just now hearing of it. The usual delay. How many folks have eaten them since April 23? This always makes me furious. (I almost didn't survive the horrors of the long-drawn-out pet food recalls last year.)
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
rozy,
FWIW: http://tinyurl.com/4puz8f
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
rozy, says:
I think we should report it. They at least need to know that alot of people could have been affected, from all over, just from going thru that airport!
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
Again with the litigation. How many people have you sued in your lifetime, Kay? ;-)
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
rozy, says:
thanks Kay. When an over $4000 trip is ruined from someone's neglect or apathy, i think compensation should be in order!
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
DC, says:
They'll probably tell you that you should have had traveller's insurance.
How would you plan on proving that the food at the airport was the culprit? Maybe you drank some sour milk at home before you left or contracted a viral gastroenteritis when the airline attendant gave you a soda. Also, was it the tomato or the chicken salad?
Maybe if it was reported immediately someone could have taken some samples from the proposed site. By now, may be too late.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott, says:
Tomatoes are naturally high in glutamate and, therefore, should not be eaten, whether cooked or raw.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
DC, says:
I think the whole bible - apple thing may have just been a metaphor for tomatoes.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin, says:
Scott: [citation needed].
Why is glutamate bad?
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Lisa Lawrence Merritt, says:
DC: the Bible refers to "forbidden fruit" but not specifically an apple.
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott, says:
Citation: http://tinyurl.com/6bwyzw .
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
DC, says:
EXACTLY
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle, says:
I never understood why tomatoes get such a bad wrap from so many people.
Onions, on the other hand...
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
Scott Doyle,
Zero. None. Never sued anyone. No one in my family has ever sued anyone to my knowledge....or (knock on wood) ever been sued.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
DC, I see your point.
If the report had come out "in a timely manner" rather than waiting ( the customary? ) 6 weeks after the first illness, folks would know of the tomato problem and either choose not to eat them or know right away what the possible cause might be when illness starts and and get it reported.
I think/hope if everyone that ate the tomatoes at the airport says something even at this time, there should be a way for someone to figure it out.....especially if the source of the tomatoes was a Wal-Mart (or Sam's?). This goes back to April 23 at least.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
rozy,
Your welcome. Hope you have lotz of photos you'll be able to enjoy again....or for the first time.
Aloha
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
Scott Doyle,
Tomatoes have a bad rap? Say it isn't so. They are so good for us.
Check out this if there is any undue concern over the glutamate in tomatoes:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-1...
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
FOUR VERY GOOD REASONS TO EAT TOMATOES:
http://tinyurl.com/6m4nuf
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
pnewsgal, says:
Bought one tomato yesterday at Central Market before I heard the news story. Wonder if they'll tell us who the suppliers are before it goes bad (the tomato, not Central Market).
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
pnewsgal, says:
Kay ~ I'm still wary of buying fresh spinach. Bought some yesterday (only a second time since the recall) to make a nice salad with the tomato. I guess growing your own is the way to go nowdays. I'm trying my hand at a mini garden with a few tomato plants and watermelons.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
'gal, Not a bad idea, growing your own veggies. My wonderful grandfather grew ours when I was a little kid...Right at the front of the garden were several of those "cherry tomato" plants. I never saw them any place else of course so I thought they just grew wild like that. No wonder he always had a "green salad", I was eating all those cute little tomatoes.
Whether the store will provide information on your recent tomato purchase or not, maybe you would want to go ahead and do the "COOK your raw tomatoes for 15 seconds (at least) at 145 degrees F, to kill salmonella --- this is what they are suggesting." idea....and then peel that sucker before you stick it in the salad. :o)
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin, says:
My parents have a big garden, I always look forward to getting fresh veggies, including <i>delicious onions</i> when I come to visit.
Are Monosodium Glutamate and Glutamate the same thing? Because I'm not going to stop eating salt just because it's made out of two toxic chemicals.
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Collin Gouldin, says:
"tomatoes aside, this is the best damn sandwich I've ever tasted" ... btw, subway no longer servers tomatoes
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
David Gouldin, says:
<div style="background-color: #d53000; text-align:center;vertical-align: middle;width:425px;z-index:500;overflow:visible"><a href="http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html" style="display:block;"><img alt="" border="0" height="30" src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/embeded_header.jpg" width="425"></a><object data="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html"><param name="FlashVars" value="id=1313558e7d0a91ab4540203f0e0d030d"><embed allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="id=1313558e7d0a91ab4540203f0e0d030d" height="350" src="http://www.adultswim.com/video/vplayer/index.html" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425"></object></div>
Staff
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
'gal,
NBC5 has reported that Central Market is removing tomatoes from their store shelves .... just in case.
http://www.nbc5i.com/health/16475862/...
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
Pavel,
http://tinyurl.com/5wtkth
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren, says:
When chuckling over all of the over the top titles on the local TV channels reporting this story last night (I mean eveything except "Tomato Ptomainia"), I was amazed no one had yet invoked:
<object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wfm3_BMinhg&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed height="355" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wfm3_BMinhg&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" wmode="transparent"></object>
Staff
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
MORE CASES OF SALMONELLA from tomatoes:
http://news.mobile.msn.com/en-us/arti...
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Clay213, says:
Everyone seems insane.
I ate tomatoes last night. And then I ate tomato sauce too.
Stop spraying animal sh*t on food and we wouldn't have this problem.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
James Scott, says:
Went to Carraba's (unfortunately) for lunch and tried to order the tomato-basil pizza and...no tomatoes! But curiously, they had marinara sauce - how could they make marinara sauce without tomatoes??? I've always thought their stuff tasted pretty mediocre - obviously the fact that it must come from a can says something. This whole ordeal sure has a way of exposing some restaurants that pretend to have 'fresh' ingredients.
Verified
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kay, says:
James Scott,
Good question/point. Seems the only time we find out anything for sure regarding the food industries is when people/animals are being poisoned by it.
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
12ozfred, says:
I heard on the news that some restaurants have started to serve COOKED tomatoes...they didn't mention fresh, cold tomatoes though. That may be the reason we are seeing tomatoes back on the scene. But hot or cold I'm still passing!!!
Anonymous
1 year, 5 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal