This is despite Wednesday’s news from federal health officials that 106 more cases of salmonella have been linked to tainted tomatoes, putting the outbreak’s toll at 383 and counting.
“We do not think the outbreak is over,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion.
Most of this newest influx of cases were people who got sick weeks ago but hadn’t been counted yet. Some states began doing a better job of checking for salmonella as the outbreak has dragged on, while part of the surge comes from test results that had been backlogged in jammed laboratories.
McDonald’s Corp. said Wed-nesday it would reintroduce sliced tomatoes in its U.S. restaurants over the next seven to 10 days
In Temple, a woman who answered the phone at the Sonic Drive In at 1401 Marlandwood Road said the restaurant was again serving tomatoes. Same thing at the Subway Sandwiches and Salads at 2906 S. 31st St., where employee Ryan Wilson said the restaurant was serving tomatoes.
“We stopped for a while,” Wilson said, explaining that they threw away all the old tomatoes.
He said the restaurant got a fresh batch last Thursday from a new location, with a new crop approved by the FDA.
Other eateries are taking the safe route by leaving off the latest item to cause a salmonella scare.
Chris Hogan, general manager at the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar at 1808 SW HK Dodgen Loop, said the restaurant was not serving tomatoes, except for grape tomatoes.
“We just received an e-mail,” Hogan said. “We’ll probably start serving tomatoes in the next five or six days.”
Deliah Ramirez, a server and cashier at McAlister’s Deli at 2012 H K Dodgen Loop, said they were not serving tomatoes at the restaurant.
Asked whether customers were put off by the lack of tomatoes, Ramirez said, “No, they respect it because they don’t want to get sick.”
The earliest known victim of salmonella from tomatoes got sick on April 10, and the latest on June 5.
New Hampshire and Pennsylvania reported their first cases Wednesday, bringing to 30 the number of states - plus Washington, D.C. - that have reported sick residents, although some may have been infected while traveling. At least 48 people have been hospitalized.
It might be impossible to trace the ultimate source of the tainted tomatoes, the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety chief warned Wednesday.
“I know there is a great deal of frustration” that the mystery hasn’t been solved, said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA’s associate commissioner for foods. “We’re continuing to work flat-out.”
But tomatoes are among the hardest foods to trace in an outbreak because people seldom have any left by the time they get sick and they’re sold without tags to help trace their suppliers.
The FDA has said parts of Mexico and Florida are the most likely sources of the contamination because they were supplying most of the nation’s tomatoes when the outbreak began. But Acheson said he was “trying to inject a note of realism” that the longer his probe lasts, the less likely he’ll find the actual farm.
“As every day passes, it gets just a little more tricky,” he said. “I’m still optimistic but I’m trying to be realistic.”
As part of the probe, the FDA has asked Mexican health authorities to check whether they have any cases of this exact strain of salmonella Saintpaul, the subtype involved.
The FDA continues to urge consumers nationwide to avoid raw red plum, red Roma or red round tomatoes unless they were grown in specific states or countries that FDA has cleared of suspicion. Check FDA’s Web site - http://www.fda.gov - for an updated list. Also safe are grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.
