Eighth Georgian sick with salmonella

Another Georgian has fallen ill will salmonella. That makes eight now sick with the bacteria that officials are tracing to contaminated tomatoes. Nationally the count is at least 229.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised Americans to avoid round, red tomatoes and Roma and plum tomatoes unless they’re on a list of growing regions cleared in the outbreak. Georgia’s on that list.

Salmonella symptoms include nausea, stomach cramping and fever.

Seven Sick From Tainted Tomatoes

Health officials say seven Georgia residents have become ill in a nationwide outbreak of tomato-associated salmonella. Six of the cases were in the Atlanta area and one in northeast Georgia.Across the country, 228 illnesses in 23 states have been linked to the tainted tomatoes. Georgia was one of six states to join the list on Thursday.

Tomato warning excludes GA growers

An outbreak of Salmonella bacteria has stores pulling tomatoes from their shelves nationwide. Over one hundred people in the US have gotten sick with salmonella bacteria, and the Federal Drug Administration has narrowed the potential source down to three kinds of tomatoes: roma, plum and round tomatoes grown in several states. But Georgia is not one of them. Instead, Georgia is one of twenty states where tomatoes have been cleared.

However, many restaurants and grocery stores are pulling tomatoes from consumption no matter where they’re from. Charles Hall with the trade group, Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers, says paranoia is hurting Georgia’s tomato farmers.

“We’re in season as far as shipping out tomatoes and we’re seeing our sales reduce significantly because the concerns of stores about the tomatoes even though we’re shipping safe tomatoes.”

Hall says the paranoia should soon be over; the last case of salmonella was reported two weeks ago. Officials still warn consumers to check the origin of the tomatoes they eat.

Tomatoes grown in the following places are NOT part of the FDA recall:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Hawaii
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
New York
Nebraska
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
West Virginia
Belgium
Canada
Dominican Republic
Guatemala
Israel
Netherlands
Puerto Rico