FDA lifts warning on tomatoes

Tomatoes are again safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, weeks after the food was blamed as a source of a salmonella outbreak in the United States and Canada.

The federal agency lifted its warning about tomatoes but left in place a warning about raw jalapeño and serrano peppers, having previously said those foods also may be linked to the outbreak. The source of the outbreak still isn't known -- and 20 to 30 reports of the illness are coming in per day -- but the FDA said the epidemic is "waning."
The FDA hasn't determined whether tomatoes were a source of the outbreak, but it has determined that tomatoes currently in fields and stores are safe, said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's associate commissioner for food protection, according to The Associated Press.
Salmonella Saintpaul -- a rare form of the bacteria -- has infected more than 1,190 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada since April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 370 of those people became ill on or after June 1, the CDC said.
At least 224 people have been hospitalized.
Two elderly men with pre-existing conditions died while infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, and the FDA said the infection could have contributed to their deaths.