ATLANTA — Federal authorities on Tuesday cleared fresh tomatoes being harvested in Florida and all those grown in California of responsibility in the national food poisoning scare, which has sickened 167 people in 17 states — including Washington — since April.
The Food and Drug Administration was still trying to pinpoint the source of the salmonella Tuesday. U.S. health officials said there were no confirmed salmonella deaths linked to the outbreak.
Data suggest that raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw round red tomatoes are the cause of the outbreak.
At this time, consumers should limit their tomato consumption to tomatoes that have not been implicated in the outbreak, the FDA said. These include cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached and tomatoes grown at home.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection that lives in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals. The bacteria are usually spread 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.
Many people recover without treatment. However, severe infection and even death is possible. Infants, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe infections.
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