Salmonella Tomatoes Sicken 552 as Food Safety Inspectors Head South

Food safety inspectors headed south this weekend to examine tomato farms and distribution chains in Florida and Mexico in attempt to pinpoint the source of the salmonella outbreak now linked to 552 illnesses across 32 states, officials said Friday.

Investigators believe the numbers could go higher because the outbreak is probably still underway, David Acheson, director of food safety for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told reporters.

Some 53 people have been hospitalized, CDC officials said. No deaths have been blamed on the outbreak, although one elderly man who died of cancer was infected at the time of his death. Officials said the infection may have played a role in his death.

The CDC hasn’t released to the media the names of the farms inspected this weekend or even the exact parts of Florida and Mexico where the inspections will take place. The FDA’s Acheson did tell Reuters reporters that although data has led officials to farms in Florida and Mexico, the contamination could have occurred anywhere along the distribution chain. He said the FDA can’t assume the contamination occurred on a farm and that it is also “highly unlikely” the contamination happened in multiple locations.

Meanwhile, folks are still being warned not to eat raw plum, Roma and round tomatoes grown in Central Florida or Mexico until health officials have ascertained that the tomatoes grown in these regions aren’t the ones making people sick.