So now eating raw tomatoes is a hazard? What is wrong with the safety & the hygiene of our foods? Is it the?

Question

"Tomato officials weigh in on salmonella outbreak

By David Mitchell

(June 4, UPDATED 12:12 p.m.) The New Mexico Department of Health is looking closely at Mexico as the source of the tainted tomatoes in the outbreak that has sickened at least 40 people in New Mexico and Texas.

Retailers are pulling round red and roma tomatoes off shelves after the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers in Texas and New Mexico against eating those tomatoes raw.

Following the June 3 FDA announcement, at least two retailers, San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery Co., and Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. pulled implicated tomato varieties off the shelves in Texas locations, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Ensuring the safety and quality of products sold in our stores is a top priority for HEB,” Winell Herron, HEB Group vice president of public affairs and diversity, told the Austin American-Statesman. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will return the product to our

Answer 1

i looked it up too and couldn't find much on it either. by the way, did u know that, by official standards, animal food has higher standards that what we consume?

Answer 2

The problem comes from the fertilizer or handling process, not from the tomato itself.

Salmonella, E.Coli and other bacteria and pathogens that end up on salad and tomatoes come ONLY from animals. Animal waste and slaughterhouse byproducts (any and all waste) are used to fertilize crops, and the bacteria from it can get on your food. Also, improper food handling and unhygienic contact with meat or eggs or raw dairy might cause these pathogens to be introduced to produce. These bacteria and pathogens don't occur naturally in plant foods!

If you want change, or to be safe, grow your own safe produce or support a local vegan co-op that uses organic, earth-friendly plant-based fertilizer. Or just cook everything and anything.

Because of how cruddy the food industry is in general about handling slaughterhouses, the enormous waste that erupts from them and animal waste in general, you not only see risk to produce but a massive, wide-spread practice of re-feeding livestock the f***s from other animal farms (look it up - there's a legal loophole that makes this COMPLETELY legal and widespread and a huge risk for cross contamination).

If you're scared, demand change in how animals are treated and cleaned up after in general and how their waste products are handled. Demand change in what constitutes safe fertilizer and growing practices to use on plants. And support local co-ops that employ green and safe measures that are animal friendly - human and non-human animals alike.

Answer 3

I don't know about raw tomatoes ut I know that tomato leaves can be toxic raw..

In addition to what Maggie said, the cause may be as simple as workers not washing their hands after using the bathroom..  Or using untreated manure (including human waste) as fertiliser

The USDA, FDA, Dept.of State, Dept. of Commerce, and to some degree US customs will approve importatrion of produce from other countries provided these countires have exhibited standards in place that are acceptable to US laws and regulations. Exports to the US are also vital for economic development for these countries. Unfortunately, instead of ensuring that the standards are met, some governments (mostly corrupt anyway) turn a blind eye to substandard produce and allow the export to go through anyway. Hopefully the USDA and customs can interept these but some do slip through.

Do you know that some US corporations connive with corrupt foreign governments to bypass USDA and FDA regulations and export expired or about to expire canned goods to other countries? Supposedly not for human consumption but  for processing into usable chemicals and materials but most of it end up in store shelves. I just saw last weekend, cans of Campbell Cream of mushroom soup and candy bars on sale a month after their suposed expiration dates. The soups idf I remeber correctly were selling for teh equivalent of $ .20/can and the candy was selling for about the same per 250 gram bar

Answer 4

Does this also include the tomatoes that are still on the stem? I bought some over a week ago (the ones that have 4 on a stem) and I ate one yesterday, raw.  I hope these are not bad.