Scare picks tomato buyers, menus

Although no cases have been reported in Onslow County, a nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes has still had an effect on local businesses.

Area Piggly Wigglys pulled tomatoes from the shelves for several days until tomatoes coming from Florida, where their supplier is located, were deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration, said William Horne, manager of the Richlands Piggly Wiggly.

The first North Carolina illness associated with eating contaminated tomatoes was confirmed Friday by the N.C. Division of Public Health.

"The only confirmed case so far is in the Mecklenburg County area. It's a national outbreak and I'm not going to be surprised if we wind up with more cases than just one," said David Bergmire-Sweat, food borne disease epidemiologist with the division of public health.

The person became ill with Salmonella Saintpaul in May and did not require hospitalization. The exposure to tainted tomatoes most likely occurred during a trip to Texas, which has had the highest number of cases to date, according to a press release from the division of public health.

Several restaurants in town have, as a precaution, taken tomatoes off their menus.

"On Sunday June 8 Burger King elected to withdraw raw, round, red tomatoes in all of our restaurants in Canada, Puerto Rico, and some in the Caribbean," said Denise Wilson, spokesperson for the Burger King Corporation. "We also withdrew raw, round, red tomatoes in most of the U.S. restaurants with the exception of some restaurants in California that were served by growers located in states approved safe by the FDA."

Burger King began re-supplying restaurants Thursday with tomatoes from FDA-approved sources.

The Burger King on the corner of Western Blvd. and Center Street was not serving tomatoes on Friday.

"It could take several weeks before the entire Burger King system is restored," Wilson said.

Cracker Barrel also stopped serving tomatoes at all 576 of its locations nationwide.

"We decided that the health and safety of our employees and guests was most important," said Julie Davis, spokesperson for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. "When we believe that produce is safe we will serve."

The local tomato industry has not been directly affected by the outbreak, partially because the tomato harvest in the state has not yet started, according to a media advisory from N.C. State University.

However, the tomato industry as a whole is likely to take a large hit.

Mark Seitz, area commercial horticulture agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension, read that the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange estimates that the outbreak could cost the tomato industry $500,000,000, he said.

"It's happened before; every time there is a food safety scare like this the public reacts, the restaurant industry reacts, the brokers react," Seitz said. "It's the fallout from these food-borne illness issues that affects farmers the most. That association is what hurts people."

The specific type and source of tomatoes is under investigation. However, it has been suggested that the illnesses are linked to the consumption of raw red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes, as well as products containing these raw tomatoes, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The FDA is advising consumers to limit tomato consumption to those that are not the likely source of the outbreak. These include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home. Red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes from specific sources listed at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html are considered safe as well.

Consumers should be aware that raw tomatoes can be found in food items such as salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, and many other dishes.

Since April, 228 people around the nation have been infected with this particular strain of Salmonella. Symptoms of a salmonella infection are diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, according to the CDC.

Anyone who has recently eaten raw tomatoes or foods containing raw tomatoes and are experiencing any of these symptoms should contact a health care provider.

Contact Jacksonville/Onslow government reporter Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8457 or mdewitt@freedomenc.com. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.