by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Can you believe the Peanut Corporation of America was sending out their products knowing they had a problem?

The PCA, of course, is responsible for the salmonella outbreak that has sickened closed to 600 and killed at least eight.  Their own records allegedly show positive salmonella cultures in 2007 and 2008.  Apparently, they just retested until they got a negative and sent the contaminated product on its way.  The FDA is conducting a criminal investigation.

What do you think?  If true, should someone go to jail?

Wait, there’s more.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The FDA has ruled out the Texas distribution center as a source of the Salmonella outbreak.  The source is thought to be Jalapeno peppers from Mexico.  They say it is ok to eat U.S. grown peppers.

I am not sure how you know they are grown in U.S. unless you trust who is selling them.  We’ll see

As you probably know, the FDA found a jalapeno pepper contaminated with the same genetic match of the salmonella strain that has caused the recent outbreak of over 1200 cases in 43 states.  The pepper was found at a distribution center in Texas and was grown on a farm in Mexico.  So is that the end of the story?  Not yet.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

You can now eat any type of domestically grown tomatoes so says the FDA .  They are still investigating serrano and jalapeno peppers.  The episode seems to be coming to an end with no answers and a lot of mad tomato farmers.

by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Could all those tomatoes have been salmonella-free?

In their list of possible causes for the salmonella outbreak (now over 1,000 people), the FDA has added cilantro and jalapeno peppers to red plum, red roma and red round tomatoes. I have been racking my old brain to find some positive advice to give regarding this. So here goes.

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by Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

Suddenly, tomatoes are scary.

To those of you who have sworn off tomatoes and tomato products in light of the recent salmonella outbreak, please go back to eating tomatoes. Not the ones identified by the FDA as possibly problematic (plum, roma and big red tomatoes without the stem and grown in just a few locales), but any or all of the others. Salmonella-leery consumers are shunning this joy of summer. It seems all too common to go to extremes and give up this beautiful, juicy fruit all together.

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by Leigh Ann Hubbard, managing editor

When our publisher James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H., wrote about the tomato/salmonella outbreak this week, blog reader “Deborah in Chicago” asked some fantastic questions about it. “I’ve read several articles…and look at how many questions I have!!” she wrote. We took that as a challenge.

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Don’t eat the tomatoes says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), our nation’s watchdog for such things.  If you do, you may get salmonella.  A couple of years ago it was spinach,  this year tomatoes.  What’s next?   Well, at least they are watching out for us and it will be temporary.

What types of tomatoes?  Roma, round red and plum.   Even if they are cooked, the FDA says no.  Personally I would not eat any unless they were grown directly by me, or someone I trust.  Even at farmer’s markets you have to be careful that they haven’t been bought from a third party just to sell.

How does this happen?  The FDA has a detailed description of how they found the source of the spinach e. coli outbreak at http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2007/207_foodsafety.html.  The contamination could have occurred in the growing field (water, fertilizer, soil, animals), from the pickers, at storage, at transportation, at retail.  That’s just a short list, and I am sure I left out a lot.

What is Salmonella? It is a bacteria that causes diarrhea in humans.  It is found in some animals and humans and can live in dirt and water for months.  The diarrhea usually lasts for a few days and it gone, but it is easy to get dehydrated.  Some people get much sicker (septic) with the bacteria getting in their bloodstream.  Some have to be hospitalized.  As is in most of these types of illnesses, it can be serious in the very young, elderly or those without a good immune system.