FDA has expanded its list of areas NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE OUTBREAK to include counties in Florida that were not in production at the time of the first illness onset associated with the recent Salmonella saintpaul outbreak. According to FDA, "shipments of tomatoes harvested in these counties are acceptable with a certificate issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services."
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) will verify that tomatoes from the designated Florida counties were harvested after May 1 - after the outbreak began. The specific shipment criteria can be found on the Florida Tomato Committee's website at www.floridatomatoes.org.
For more information about the FDACS certificates, please contact FDACS, Division of Fruits and Vegetables at 863-291-5820, or Florida Tomato Committee at 407-660-1949.
Tomatoes from all other states and countries on the FDA list do not need to be verified or accompanied by a certificate.
FDA is still investigating the outbreak and United Fresh will keep you updated as we receive new information. United Fresh is taking calls from the media and yesterday we spoke to several reporters about misinformation in some of the news reports. We will continue to work to provide new information to reporters and correct any misinformation in the media. Please contact us, if you have questions.
Amy Philpott, aphilpott@unitedfresh.org, 202-303-3400 ext. 425
Dr. David Gombas, dgombas@unitedfresh.org
Helpful Links:
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: http://doacs.state.fl.us/
Florida Tomato Committee: http://www.floridatomatoes.org/
Shipment criteria found on the Florida Tomato Committees website http://www.floridatomatoes.org/tomatoshipmentcriteria.pdf
United Fresh Produce Association, Home Page www.unitedfresh.org
United Fresh Produce Association, special page on Salmonella saintpaul outbreak http://www.unitedfresh.org/newsviews/food_safety_resource_center/salmonella_saintpaul_outbreak
U.S. Food & Drug Administration http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html
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