(Please forgive the strange variety of types and sizes of type. I cut and pasted a couple of selections which seemed to have minds of their own about how they wanted to appear, and additionally managed to screw up some of the type surrounding them. I tried but failed to correct this.)
Here’s the problem.
Whole hunks of national economies are seriously affected when blaring headlines suddenly
appear linking a major crop with a disease outbreak. This is unfortunate but necessary if the link
is correct, but irresponsible in the extreme and in itself harmful to producers and consumers alike if it is not. In any case, the cause of major outbreaks should be located
before people are getting sick all over the country in noticeable numbers. If we
had a good FDA, we’d have enough researchers and inspectors to be address problems with the distribution of
produce before it reached our tables. As
Paul Krugman points out, we don’t: another calamity of the Bush years.
In the case of tomatoes, it appears that the only reason the
FDA has blamed central and southern Florida and Mexico for the outbreaks is
because that’s where many of the tomatoes available at this time come
from. I don’t know about Florida, but I
do know that here in Mexico we eat the same tomatoes that are sent to the US
and there has been no major outbreak of Salmonella associated with tomatoes, or anything else for that matter. I know you can't confirm stuff from just your own experience, but neither Jim nor I nor any of our friends or neighbors, all of whom eat tomatoes, have gotten sick. And, yes, there are public health agencies
which track such things. Significant outbreaks would definitely be noted and
acted upon. Furthermore, salmonella saintpaul is a very rare type here as well as in the U.S. so its presence in exported tomatoes is extremely unlikely. Mexico is sending a delegation of experts and government officials to the US to explain to US personnel the scientific and technical factors making it extremely unlikely the outbreak is of Mexican origin. It would be both considerate and sensible for the FDA to look for areas within and outside of the US that might have had recent
outbreaks of salmonella saintpaul and what, if any connection such places might have
with the production or transporting or processing of tomatoes.
It almost seems as if the FDA is just casting about in a panic to find something to pin the outbreak on. Here in Mexico of course there is suspicion, articulated in newspaper
reports, that the labeling of Mexican tomatoes as a likely source is some kind
of retribution, possibly for Mexican reaction to US "offers" of aid in fighting narcotrafico, or perhaps some sort of anti-immigrant move on the part of the U.S.. Lest this seem paranoid to you,
check out this link http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-117908.html
for an example of anti-immigrant attitudes about the tomato scare. According to folks like these, even if it’s
not the tomatoes somehow getting soiled in Mexico, it’s Mexicans soiling the tomatoes
in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides a good a description of how tomatoes (or other produce) can be contaminated by salmonella:
Salmonella
can be found in the feces of many animals (e.g., food animals, reptiles,
amphibians, birds) and in some habitats, such as ponds and drainage ditches.
Although the exact mechanism by which tomatoes become contaminated is not
known, experimental evidence suggests certain possibilities. In experimental
studies, the insides of whole tomatoes can be contaminated in at least two
ways: (1) if tomatoes are immersed in water that is colder than the tomato,
water can enter through the stem scar; if the water is contaminated, Salmonella
can be carried in; (2) if contaminated water touches the stem or flower of a
tomato plant, the growing tomato can be contaminated. Contamination on the
tomato surface also can be transferred to the inside when it is cut. Food
handlers infected with Salmonella who have not washed their hands may
also contaminate tomatoes during preparation. If a cut tomato that is
contaminated with Salmonella is kept out of the refrigerator, the
bacteria can multiply to much higher numbers.
Here is some information from an interesting article from the CDC about salmonella and tomatoes, including the history of other outbreaks. What's odd about all this is that while the strain is uncommon, it doesn't seem to be any worse than any other strain, and every year thousands of people get sick from salmonella. We certainly don't get notified about all of those occurrences. Here is a clip about salmonella from WebMD:
How does salmonella spread?
Salmonella can pass from human or animal feces to soil, fruits, vegetables, water, or other surfaces. People usually get salmonella by eating contaminated foods. However, salmonella can also spread through contact with pet feces or by handling contaminated pet food.
Reptiles are particularly likely to harbor salmonella bacteria, and chicks and ducklings can carry them too, notes the CDC. The U.S. government bans the sale of small pet turtles because of salmonella risk.
How common is salmonella infection?
Salmonella is commonly found in birds, in reptiles, in chickens, and in humans. There are more than 2,000 types of salmonella.
Every year, the CDC gets reports of about 40,000 cases of salmonella illnesses. The actual number of cases may be higher because not all cases get reported to the CDC. In fact, the CDC estimates that for every reported case, 38 cases go unreported.
An estimated 400 people per year die of acute salmonella infection, according to the CDC.
But the St. Paul salmonella strain is rare in humans. Last year, there were 400 reported cases. And last year there were only 25 cases of infection with the specific Saintpaul subtype causing the current outbreak.
Are salmonella cases on the rise?
Not according to the CDC's preliminary food safety data for 2007, which show no significant change from 2004-2007 in the incidence of salmonella infection reported to the CDC. But the salmonella incidence rate is more than twice as high as the government's goal for 2010, so the CDC says "new approaches" are needed to curb salmonella infection.
******
Basically, you all should be following good hygiene practices when you use fresh produce. This is so even with organically-grown, local crops. The danger of wide-spread problems increases with industrially raised produce, however, and this all adds to the benefits of small-scale farming.
One state of Mexico, Baja California Norte, has been cleared of blame. Now why are all these other countries from whom we don't get any tomatoes cleared as suspects in this outbreak while Mexico just has to wait and wait?