Beware of the 'killer' tomatoes: Fast-food chains link fruit to salmonella outbreak

Fast-food chains across the U.S. have stopped selling some varieties of tomato after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak.

McDonald's, Burger King and several supermarkets voluntarily withdrew plum, Roma, or Round Red tomatoes  -  and shoppers were urged to beware.

In Texas, a man's death was linked to the salmonella bacteria  -  and yesterday, the New York Post's front page read: Attack of the killer tomatoes.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said there had been no reports of contaminated tomatoes in Britain.

But across 17 American states, more than 167 have been infected with salmonella since mid-April. Of those, 23 ended up in hospital. A rare strain of the bacteria, Salmonella Saintpaul, has been blamed for the rash of infections.

And health officials say they still have no idea where the outbreak originated, even though most of the reported cases have been in Texas and New Mexico,

A spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said: 'We are working hard and fast on this one and hope to have something as quickly as possible.'

Those who have eaten the contaminated tomatoes generally experienced flu-like symptoms such as a fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

But experts say that for young children, the frail or elderly and patients with weakened immune systems, salmonella can be more serious  -  and sometimes fatal.

It is more frequently associated with poultry, which carries the bacteria, but produce is increasingly a vehicle.

Scientists and public-health experts do not fully understand how fruit and vegetables are contaminated. But the bacteria can be found in animal faeces, which can spread through infected water, manure or improper handling.

It may enter tomatoes through the roots, flowers, through cracks in the skin of the fruit or the stem scar. Once inside, the microbe is hard to kill without cooking.

The bacteria can live in contaminated soil and water for months and can be spread from surface to surface.

For example, a tomato containing salmonella can spread the bacteria to the cutting board on which the tomato is sliced, and then to other foodstuffs placed on the board.

The scare has left Florida, the largest tomato-producing state in 'complete collapse'.

Up to £20million-worth of produce will be left to rot unless officials can quickly find the source of the outbreak.

U.S. health officials say it is safe to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.

But these account for only a tiny portion of the industry.

Tomatoes have been linked to 13 outbreaks of salmonella since 1990, said consumer science group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest.