Georgia tomato farmers hit hard by salmonella scare

(J. Bennet)

It's a 40-million dollar crop in Georgia, and now a recent salmonella scare has hit Georgia's farmers hard. Sales of tomatoes are down, and losses could total 8-million dollars.
And while Georgia tomatoes have been declared safe by the Food and Drug Administration, the media hype is still keeping customers away.
The FDA is telling consumers not to eat Roma, plum and red round tomatoes grown in California and some parts of Florida. Tomatoes from other states, including Georgia are safe.
Officials have expanded the search for salmonella to include Serrano peppers and cilantro often served with tomatoes in salsa.
Charles Hall is with the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Commission. He says the FDA is trying to protect consumers, but farmers are suffering.

"If it's not tomatoes we've got a lot of growers who have lost a lot of money because it was announced that it was tomatoes and consumers quit buying."

Sales of Georgia tomatoes are down around 70-percent. Many farmers are leaving them to rot in the fields. Farmers also face the dilemma of whether to even plant their fall tomato crops in the coming weeks.