This is a post I did elsewhere and cut and pasted to here. It starts by saying here is a link to a GOogle search, but that didn't transfer, so anyone can do that same Google search if they want to. My reply below was in answer to several questions about the current Salmonella situation as asked elsewhere. (...is a link to a Google search on this outbreak and more specifically showing that different serotypes of Salmonella have been detected in the past and that Salmonella and tomatoes is nothing new. There are about 2000 plus different serotypes of Samonella, most of them named for the first place they were located from. While one of the links says that the St.Paul serotype is very rare, another more accurately one says that it's 6th in occurence as related to all Salmonella disease/ But per your question. I see no relationship between the comment about washing tomatoes would not work b c the strain is St Paul.''And I see no reason to say that on the vine and cherries are OK without data to show what the source(s) might be. I'd not be concerned with the Desert Sweet on the vine and cherry ones shipped in from Israel, nor would I be concerned with those shipped in from Holland, but I would be concerned about those from Mexico. The bacterial isolation and serotyping will tell us more/ And don't forget that it was just a few years ago that sliced tomatoes were being to a restaurant chain, I can't remember which one except by Googling, and the Salmonella contamination occured at some processing plant in the SE as recall. Researchers have directly innoculated tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables with Salmonella and it will grow, no surprise there, and multiply, but I haven't seen any data that says that it can get into an unblemished tomato fruit under natural conditions. Perhaps that data exists but I'm not aware of it. It's always interesting being a retired Microbiologist ( infectious diseases, immunology, etc.) when situations like this come up. The amount of wrong info peddled in the media is substantial. I'm not saying that the situation is not potentailly serious, I'm saying that I think the risk of exposure is low as one avoids tomatoes shipped in from probably MExico and TX and it's a good bet, based on past outbreaks and migrant worker problems, that CA might also be involved. The largest epidemic of this type occured maybe 8 years ago about 20 miles from where I live at the Washington county Fairgrounds here in NYS. Cattle carrying Salmonella eliminated it in feces and when the fecal residue was flushed out of the barns in ended up in several wells on the Fairgrounds. I didn't check the figures but it was around 2000 folks who contracted salmonella and there were around 8 deaths, mainly in the pediatric and elderly population. The NYS Health Dept did a superb job of tracking down the source to the general population and everythin at the fairground pertaining to water supplies was...

I thought I answered this in a previous post. The salmonella was introduced when some fool crossed an eggplant with a tomato. Seriously though, what I got a kick out of was TV stations sending reporters to farm markets to ask the people if they were afraid of buying tomatoes there. To which the people there answered no. Well...duh. If you all remember the spinach scare from two years ago, it's the same deal. If you buy from a local farmer, or better yet just get the stuff from your back yard, you don't have to worry much about the same stuff that the people that buy from the grocery stores do. You want to know why they have a hard time tracking down the culprit...too many middle men. When people in New Hampshire want tomatoes in May, where are you going to find them? Well a long ways away. So you're going to have people growing them in Mexico, selling them to distributors in Texas who sell them to wholesalers in Ohio that the restaurants in New Hampshire buy from. That's a lot of places for the USDA to have to check out. As for the actual cases of salmonella themselves...the symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and the like. Now come on, I'm sure we've all eaten at Taco Bell or McDonalds before, and even if you don't have a taco or Big Mac with tomatoes chances are those will be the side-affects.

Information regarding the Grreat Choice® Recall With the recent FDA announcement of a salmonella investigation involving peanut butter products distributed through the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), we began working closely with all of our vendors to verify whether there are any implications for our customers and their pets through the products sold in our stores. Although we are not aware of any reported cases of injury or illness related to peanut butter products in our stores, we are conducting a voluntary recall as a precautionary measure and have removed these products from our shelves and website. Background Effective January 20, 2009, PetSmart® is conducting a voluntary recall of seven of our Grreat Choice dog biscuits (peanut butter and assorted flavors). We initiated the recall after determining these products sold between August 21, 2008 and January 19, 2009 contain peanut butter product linked to the salmonella recall announced by the FDA. While some of these products have been tested and no traces of salmonella were found, we have recalled these products as a precautionary measure. Because of the potential risk, we're immediately removing these products from our shelves and website. What Has Been Recalled? Here's the complete list of products included in the recall with their UPC code, also known as a bar code. Check the description and UPC of any food you may have against this list. The UPC can be found on the product label under a series of bars. If you need help, ask any PetSmart store associate. Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits UPC Description Sample of a UPC Code 73725702900 Small Assorted 32 oz. 73725700601 Small/Medium Assorted 4 lb.. 73725700605 Small/Medium Assorted 8 lb.. 73725702755 Small/Medium Assorted 10 lb.. 73725700638 Large Assorted 8 lb.. 73725700779 Extra Large Assorted 8 lb.. 73725700766 Peanut Butter 4 lb.. At this time, only these UPCs are affected. Here is a link that might be useful: Petsmart Product Code Recall Details

That sounds terrible Alisande. I don't know that I had Salmonella, but I did get a very bad case of food poisoning a few years ago. It was when we had the foreign exchange student and it was the only time in the year that she showed any concern for any of my family. LOL I had ate at a Chinese restaurant and while I was eating the egg drop soup (?).. I found an odd chewy piece of meat which did not taste right... but being in a restaurant I swallowed it anyhow. Big mistake. Less than 48 hours later I started throwing up and didn't stop for 3 days. I ended up sick for about 2 weeks. That was the worst I had ever felt in my entire life.