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State growers' crop is cleared
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By Herald Tribune
Originally Published June, 11 2008 at 8:26 PM
Updated June, 11 2008 at 8:26 PM
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 MYAKKA CITY — Pickers got back to work Tuesday at grower Jimmy
Grainger's 1,000-acre patch after the federal government cleared
Florida tomatoes of being the cause of a national food poisoning scare.
"It's a huge relief," said Grainger, who had picked about 85 percent
of his crop before everything ground to a halt several days ago with
concerns about a salmonella outbreak. "Your prayer is that the
confidence and perception that your product is as good as you've said
it is is preserved." The dollar cost to Florida growers has
already been enormous, but experts said that the interruption was short
enough that it should not have a big impact on prices at the
grocery store. The crises came near the end of Southwest
Florida's tomato-growing season, which runs roughly from mid-October
through mid-June. The region -- one of the state's main growing areas
-- is part of a Florida industry that produces about 1.3 billion pounds
of tomatoes valued at about $400 million each year at the farm level. Sunshine
State growers lost at least $40 million as the Food and Drug
Administration held up shipments of tomatoes while it assessed the
state's crop, according to estimates from the Florida Tomato Committee,
a federal marketing agency that regulates the state's fresh
tomato growers. That cost will likely not be passed on to
consumers as tomatoes return to the grocery store aisles, said Tom
Spreen, chairman of the University of Florida's Food and Resource
Economics Department. "In that short of a time it wouldn't be much," Spreen said. "There may be a little blip, but beyond that, no." The addition of Florida to the national all-clear list was welcome news for growers and packers. "This
is a huge relief for the Florida tomato industry," said Lisa Lockridge,
spokeswoman for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. "We've
been standing by every day waiting to be put on the cleared list and
now growers can get back to getting their product into the marketplace." State
Agriculture Department spokeswoman Liz Compton said her department was
contacting grocers and restaurant chains to update them about the
FDA's findings. Far-reaching problem The national disruption in the tomato supply, in varying degrees, touched everyone from growers to packers to restaurants. Federal
officials are trying to track down the source of a rare strain of
salmonella that comes from red plum, red Roma or round red tomatoes. McDonald's,
Wal-Mart, Burger King, Kroger, Outback Steakhouse, Winn-Dixie and Taco
Bell were among the companies that voluntarily withdrew tomatoes from
their aisles, sandwiches, meals and salad bars unless they were grown
in certain states and countries. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has said that since mid-April, about 170 people infected
with salmonella with the same "genetic fingerprint" have been
identified. At least 23 have been hospitalized. A 67-year-old
cancer patient in Texas, who health officials said was sickened by
salmonella at a Mexican restaurant, is believed to be the first death
associated with the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria that lives
in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are
usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with
animal feces. Most infected people suffer fever, diarrhea and
abdominal cramps starting 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness
tends to last four to seven days. FDA officials warned consumers in New Mexico and Texas as early as June 3 about the outbreak. The
salmonella causing the outbreak is a very unusual type called
salmonella saintpaul, said FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach,
who added it was not more virulent than other types of salmonella. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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