Nationwide Tomato Warning

USA TODAY - The Food and Drug Administration said Sunday that 145 to 150 people in 16 states have been sickened by salmonellosis, which has been linked to the consumption of raw red tomatoes. The FDA initially issued a warning June 3 about tomatoes in New Mexico and Texas. Saturday, officials expanded the warning nationwide ...

States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin ...

Salmonellosis in healthy people can cause fever, diarrhea (which can be bloody), nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. "It's not something that you'd want," Acheson says. "It's going to land you with two or three days of a lot of discomfort" ... Salmonellosis can be dangerous to young children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems ...

Simply washing tomatoes can help, but it won't necessarily remove the salmonella bacteria, because when tomatoes are picked on very hot days and put into cold water to chill, salmonella on their surface can be drawn up into the fruit ...

Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes strikes about 150