Tomatoes Returning to Favor: SALMONELLA SCARE: The FDA Gives Its Safe List for Consumption.
Just days after a nationwide salmonella panic, you can still find the world’s most misunderstood fruit in some local restaurants and grocery stores.
It’s safe to consume tomatoes from 23 states, 19 Florida counties and seven countries, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday. All cherry and grape tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes and those still on the vine when you buy them are also in the clear.
Over the weekend, local fast food chains, restaurants and grocery stores snatched tomatoes off their menus and out of produce sections after the FDA issued a warning about an outbreak of the bacteria salmonella saintpaul.
Carrs-Safeway and Fred Meyer grocery stores both carry tomatoes cleared by the FDA — cherry, grape, hothouse and on the vine — and have signs posted for customers explaining why other tomatoes are missing.
"You won’t see anything you can’t eat," said Cherie Myers, spokeswoman for Safeway stores.
Organic tomatoes are getting a little more attention than usual because of the salmonella scare.
"They’re all gone and it’s a day ahead of time," said Rick Solberg, manager of Natural Pantry, an organic food store in Midtown.
It’s been a little more complicated for restaurants.
Wednesday was the first day since Sunday you could stack tomatoes on a Subway sandwich, according to Rob Wilson, Subway spokesman.
And while you still can’t get a Whopper with a slice of tomato, it won’t be long.
Jim Hinkle, owner of Alaska’s five Burger Kings found out Wednesday that the FDA cleared the company that sells him tomatoes. He said he hopes to have tomatoes back in all his restaurants by Monday.
Signs or newspaper clippings are posted at all locations, Hinkle said, and his staff hasn’t gotten a lot of complaints about the missing ingredient.
"Who wants to get sick? So no one really wants to complain," he said. "I’m sure there are tomato lovers out there, but they aren’t apparently being too crazy about it."
The mild pico de gallo sauce at Qdoba Mexican Grill — made from scratch out of whole fresh tomatoes — is now available after a hiatus from the menu for five days last week due to the outbreak, said Paul Harris, director of operations in Alaska.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention isolated the source of the outbreak last week.
"We went out and re-sourced the types of tomatoes that we’re using — right now, all we bring into the restaurant are on the vine," Harris said. The six other salsas the chain uses are not made from whole fresh tomatoes and were not at risk for salmonella.
All Red Robin restaurants in the area are still tomato-less.
Some menu items that normally include tomatoes are not available at all due to the outbreak, said Fred Rosenberg, president of Red Robin Alaska Inc. Some are available minus the tomato.
Since mid-April, 167 people in 17 states have been infected with salmonella saintpaul and at least 23 were hospitalized, according to the CDC. There are no reports of anyone getting sick in Alaska.
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Contact Monique Newton by e-mailing mnewton@adn.com or calling 257-4469.
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SALMONELLA: Read more about the outbreak.
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LIST: Find out which states’ tomatoes have been cleared.
fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html