By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After weeks of investigations that raised more questions than answers, officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion (FDA) now say tomatoes, what were originally thought to be the source of a major salmonella serotype Saintpaul outbreak, have been cleared for consumption.

A press release by the agency dated July 17 stated: “After a lengthy investigation, the FDA has determined that fresh tomatoes now available in the domestic market are not associated with the current outbreak. As a result, the agency is removing its June 7 warning against eating certain types of red raw tomatoes.

“The FDA, working with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health departments, is continuing to follow epidemiological and other evidence showing that raw jalapeño and raw serrano peppers now available in the domestic market may be linked to illnesses in this outbreak.

“At this time, people in high risk populations, such as elderly persons, infants and people with impaired immune systems, should avoid eating raw jalapeño and raw serrano peppers.” (According to an Associated Press story, fresh cilantro is also on the suspect list.)
While the scare over tomatoes seems to be over, the cause of the outbreak remains a mystery. The CDC reports that 1,237 cases with the same genetic fingerprint have been discovered in 43 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Such an investigation is difficult, according to the CDC. It states: “One difficult aspect is that people often have difficulty remembering exactly what foods they ate, and remembering specific ingredients in those foods is even more difficult. Although laboratory testing of foods might help identify the source, perishable foods that were consumed by ill persons are often not available to test.

“When food items are mixed together and consumed in the same dish, all the items may be statistically linked to illness. In that case, determining by statistical means which item caused the illness can be difficult or impossible. Tracing suspect produce items back to processors and growers is an integral part of the effort to identify a single source and a possible means of contamination.”

The inability to pinpoint the source of the outbreak has left many in the public fearful and some in Congress angry. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), vice chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and an advocate for mandatory recall and traceability, said there was no excuse in not finding the source of the outbreak.
“It is absolutely outrageous that we are 90 days into the salmonella outbreak and the FDA and CDC still cannot determine the source of contamination,” DeGette said. “The salmonella outbreak continues to spread, with nearly 30 cases a day, because we do not have a national, comprehensive food traceability system that would quickly track our foods from the field to the fork.

“An effective traceback system would allow us to quickly identify the source of the contamination, while protecting our producers, growers and distributors whose industries are being devastated. Now, the FDA is saying that tomatoes are safe, but only because they have a short shelf life. We still don’t know the source of the contamination, and that is inexcusable.”

Fellow Democrat and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has teamed with DeGette to endorse legislation that would give the USDA and the FDA mandatory recall authority. In a letter to the Senate and House Leadership and Agriculture Committee, the two wrote: “We are writing to ask for your expedited consideration of the Safe and Fair Enforcement and Recall for (SAFER) Meat, Poultry and Food Act of 2007 (H.R. 3484 and S.R. 3267), bills that would fix a glaring deficiency in our food safety system.

“These bills would provide our two chief food safety oversight agencies, the FDA and the USDA, with the authority to mandate food recalls when necessary. We think most Americans would be alarmed to learn that the federal government doesn’t already have this reasonable power in their regulatory arsenal.

“The top priority for both the FDA and the USDA should be to protect the public’s health, a mission that will sometimes require swift and decisive action that will not be to industry’s liking.
“Mandatory recall authority will ensure that these agencies have the necessary leverage to demand that those private companies responsible for feeding our nation follow strict safety standards and that when mistakes are made the public’s safety is not compromised,” they concluded.