Georgia agriculture officials ask for federal help

Six weeks ago federal officials named tomatoes as the likely culprit in a salmonella outbreak. Now the investigation is shifting to peppers. More than 1,000 people have become sick.
In the wake of the outbreak sales plummeted. Now the Georgia Department of Agriculture is asking for help for Georgia's tomato farmers.
Agriculture Commissioner, Tommy Irvin is asking Georgia's congressional delegation to get disaster assistance for the state's tomato farmers. He says the Food and Drug Administration is partly to blame for singling out tomatoes as the reason for the outbreak.
Georgia tomatoes were eliminated early on. However, consumers quit buying and farmers lost millions during the middle of their spring harvest. Charles Hall is with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. He says it really had an impact. Sales dropped by 70-percent.

"The FDA has a job to do. Obviously their announcements have certainly had an effect on consumer confidence in the tomato crop."

Georgia is right behind Florida and California when it comes to tomato production. Farmers here could lose up to 8-million dollars.