First it was spinach, then carrot juice, now tomatoes

November 3, 2006
Associated Press and Canadian Press

WASHINGTON - Health officials were cited as saying Friday that contaminated fresh tomatoes served in restaurants were the cause of a recent salmonella outbreak that sickened dozens of people in 21 states.
Dr. Christopher Braden, a foodborne outbreak and surveillance expert with the CDC, was cited as saying one of the two Canadian cases, a woman from Prince Edward Island, "was actually travelling in east coast states at the time of her exposure" and that CDC believes the second Canadian case, a person from New Brunswick, is probably part of the outbreak, given that the strain of Salmonella is a genetic match for the one responsible for the U.S. outbreak.
But The Public Health Agency of Canada was cited as saying the link is not yet proven.
Spokesperson Alain Desroches was cited as saing it's possible the cases may be part of the U.S. outbreak but that the same strain of Salmonella has been found previously in Canada (huh? -- dp)