Jack In The Box Fast-Food Chain Pulls Raw Tomatoes After Scare

SANTA ANA, Calif. _ Jack In The Box restaurants said Friday that the San Diego-based company has temporarily stopped using raw tomatoes on everything from burgers to salads after federal health officials issued a warning about the fruit being tied to illnesses sweeping several states.

The number of salmonella cases linked to raw tomatoes grew this week with the main outbreak hitting Texas and New Mexico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From April 23 through June 1, officials have documented 57 salmonella cases in New Mexico and Texas. Also, 30 more reports of illness have been identified in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Utah.

Officials have preliminarily pointed to raw red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes as the possible cause. Officials have not tied the illnesses to any particular restaurant or food outlet.

Jack In The Box, hit hard years ago by an E. coli scare, is the first large chain to take preventive measures to stop using raw tomatoes.

“While we are confident in the quality of the products and processes at Jack In The Box, the safety of our guests is our first priority. For this reason, until the CDC offers further information to the food industry on this issue, we have temporarily discontinued the use of raw tomatoes in our products as a precautionary measure,” Jack In The Box said in a statement.

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