A day after Florida tomato growers asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to declare there is no salmonella in the state’s tomato crops, FDA lifted the warning on all tomatoes.
The agency said that the number of cases of illness from Salmonella has been declining and they hope the outbreak may be over. Investigators were never able to find the outbreak strain on any of the tomato farms they inspected in Florida or Mexico.
FDA said it would continue to try to trace back the illness to its sources. And it warned people with compromised immune systems to stay away from jalapenos and cilantro, because those two produce items are still suspect.
Growers in Florida, which produces nearly half the country’s fresh tomato supply, were still trying to estimate losses for the Florida tomato industry, which is worth about $700 million a year. Growers now face a tough decision over whether to replant next season’s crops, in view of the lasting image problem caused by the fruit’s rapid expulsion from menus and grocery store shelves.
“The real injury to the tomato industry is much, much broader than the production income losses here in Florida,” said Reggie Brown, head of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.
Officials were still trying to estimate losses for the $600 million to $700 million annual Florida industry, he said.