WHY ARE GRAPE TOMATOES CONTAMINATED?

Grape tomatoes seem to have been much safer this year than they were in 2011. If you remember, we had three outbreaks last year: one in May, in grape tomatoes originating in Florida, one in September in organic grape tomatoes from Mexico, and one in December, in grape tomatoes from Texas. I did a number of posts on each (some 17 in total).

But now we have a grape tomato recall for this year too. Menno Beachy of Cresco, Iowa, is recalling one pint containers of Certified Organic Grape Tomatoes. The cause is the same as it was for the three recalls of 2012 - Salmonella bacteria. These tomatoes were distributed to retail stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan between 7/26/12-8/6/12.

This is a quote from one of my last year's posts entitled "2011 is Grape Tomato Recall Year:"What is it about grape tomatoes, rather than plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, globe (beefsteak) tomatoes, roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes...or strawberry tomatoes..... that makes them more risky?" I still don't have the answer. But I do know one thing: I am not going to eat any for a while. I want to enjoy the summer instead of suffering from a bad case of Salmonella food poisoning.

To your good health,

TSF