You say tomato, your significant other says tomahto and The Hound says salmonella. The news that two Lake Countians --- a youth from Waukegan, a woman from Ingleside --- have been linked to the national outbreak of cases of salmonella has everyone thinking: "Did I eat a tomato recently?"
Yes folks, it's the Great Tomato Crisis of '08 as Americans take a bite out of the latest vegetable panic. The Centers for Disease Control has said that since mid-April, 167 people in 17 states have been infected with salmonella with the same "genetic fingerprint" after eating tainted tomatoes. At least 23 people have been hospitalized.
Meanwhile, area fast-food chains and other eateries have stopped serving sliced tomatoes as a result of the outbreak.
The Hound would get into the symptoms of salmonella, but they're icky. Besides, trust The Hound on this one, you don't want to get it.
While health officials expect to crack this new food-borne salmonella outbreak, they say it is safe for consumers to eat tomatoes grown in Florida and California. Anybody remember the spinach outbreak of '06, when E. coli was the culprit?
No wonder folks in Gurnee are planting a community "victory garden". What foods can you trust? Anybody besides Denny Crane remember Mad Cow disease?
And, pray tell, what will this tomato crisis do to for those of us who crave ketchup, spaghetti sauce and salsa this summer? Will we be at risk if tainted tomatoes enter that food stream?
It could be a long, tomato-less summer.
Leave a comment