The tomato industry is collaborating with FDA and state health and agriculture agencies in Florida and Virginia to investigate the environmental sources of Salmonella contamination. United Fresh Board member Jay Taylor, Taylor and Fulton Inc. and United Fresh Vice President of Scientific & Technical Affairs Dr. David Gombas were present at the announcement meeting and reported the following. Citing twelve Salmonella outbreaks linked to fresh tomatoes in the past ten years, the FDA announced a multi-year Tomato Safety Initiative that will commence in Virginia the week of July 16, then move to Florida in the Fall. Under this initiative, three, multi-agency teams will visit tomato farms and packing houses to better understand the current use of good agricultural and good manufacturing practices and to search for potential environmental factors that could contribute to contamination. The Agency will consider the Initiative's findings when developing future policies, guidance and research decisions. For more information, please contact Dr. Gombas at (202) 303-3411.
United Fresh Produce Association
1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202 303 3400
Fax: 202 303 3433 united@unitedfresh.org
