Posted by: Off the Grid Girls | June 10, 2008

Florida tomato industry in “complete collapse”

Florida tomato industry in “complete collapse”

Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:15am EDT

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida’s tomato industry is in “complete collapse” and $40 million worth of tomatoes will rot unless federal regulators quickly trace the source of a salmonella outbreak and clear the state’s produce, an industry official said on Tuesday.

“We probably have $40 million worth of product we can’t sell. We’ve had to stop packing, stop picking,” said Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday warned U.S. consumers that the outbreak was linked to eating certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these tomatoes. Several major restaurant and grocery chains have stopped selling those varieties.

Read the rest of this article here.

Posted in Economy, Gardening

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Responses

So how REAL is this salmonella DANGER………Is it only on the exterior of tomato..?…..Can vegs be cleaned with anything to be safe for consumption? Can the salmonella be “inside” the tomato…? You know how THEY love to FRIGHTEN us…………

By: Athena on June 12, 2008
at 6:17 pm

Hi Athena,
Yes! “THEY” do love to frighten us! Fear is a powerful tool …but preparedness and knowledge is an even more powerful weapon : )
I have been asking the same question that you posed…”is this real?” The answer that I come back to is ‘who really knows..but better safe than sorry.”
I have stated for years that we are indeed under sanctions and a bio attack via our food supply. When the ‘alert’ about the tomatoes came out, I stepped out on my porch and gazed over all my tomato plants thriving in my garden..then I looked at all the tomatoes that my hubby and I have canned and sundried from years gone past..and I smiled having a sense of empowerment and satisfaction knowing that all the ‘maters we eat ..we grew…and therefore we don’t have to worry about this ‘threat’ at all.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. Plant your garden. Buy local. Even if you don’t have a lot of space for a garden..you can grow food in things you have around the house..old laundry baskets, old boots, hats, coffee cans, plastic bottles and plastic baggies! Get creative people…grow your freedom!
“They” haven’t been very clear on just where the salmonella is resting on / in the tomatoes. The only thing that I’ve found is that supposedly even a contaminated tomato can be eaten if it is cooked.
I’m a little befuddled by the statement that “THEY” have made in reference to the fact that tomatoes sold ’still on the vine’ are safe and not contaminated. This makes one think that the contamination did indeed come from the handlers of the tomatoes and not the plant itself..but again..I don’t have many details on all of that.
If you come across any helpful information, please post it here for all of us to see.
Thanks for visiting and please continue to post your thoughts !!!

Have a great day,
Cordi

By: Off the Grid Girls on June 13, 2008
at 7:33 am

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