Florida Tomatoes Now Safe To Eat; Ban Cost Sunshine State Farmers $40 Million

Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - Florida-grown tomatoes are now safe to eat, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which declared all tomatoes harvested after May 20 are safe to eat. ''It is critical that consumers know that our tomatoes are safe and delicious,'' Florida's Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson announced Wednesday. "Our growers have worked hard to ensure the utmost safety of their product.''

The result comes as a relief to the Sunshine State's tomato growers, part of a $500 million industry that produces more fresh tomatoes than any other state in the country. Growers had had stopped harvesting in the state over the weekend as restaurants and supermarkets pulled tomatoes from shelves and refrigerators; the halt in sales has cost an estimated $40 million in lost purchases.

The FDA warned consumers to avoid raw red round, raw red plum and raw red Roma tomatoes unless they were certain they were grown in an area not associated with an outbreak. Since mid-April, 167 cases of salmonella nationwide have been linked to these kinds of tomatoes.