Posted by admin in Now that tomatoes have been cleared as a source of the massive salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 1200 people, tomato growers are seeking compensation from the huge losses they are incurring.
Back in April people began falling ill with salmonella, and the FDA and CDC were fingering raw tomatoes as the likely source.
We now know different, as not one tomato has tested positive for the strain of salmonella bacteria that is being reported at alarming rates across the country.
“Public health and safety is of course, the top priority, but we also have to look out for growers who are losing tens of millions of dollars unnecessarily,” said a spokeswoman from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson’s office.
“If they (FDA) didn’t know what they were talking about, then they shouldn’t have ever said anything until they knew,” said Will Maxwell, president of Gadsden County Tomato Growers Association in north Florida. “We got tainted with the whole deal, guilt by association so to speak.”
The continued investigation has lead to raw jalapeno peppers as the actual source of the outbreak, and FDA officials are urging consumers not to buy or eat them.
