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Where did the Tomatos come from?????

N

NMRANCHER

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
144
Location
Roswell, NM
I am being SARCASTIC...... :roll:

OK, EVERONE!!!... Please explain to me WHY we need the NAIS system and when one (1) cow was found with mad cow disease, was traced from the slaughter plant back to where it was born, across two countries, with in 24 to 36 housr, with the tracking methods we had at the time, and we have over one hundred people sick all over the nation and it has been at least three to four weeks that I have herd about it on the media?

AND still, NO one knows where the tomatos came from!!!!! :???: :???: :???:
 
salmonella outbreak linked to tainted tomatoes has spread to six more states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont.

More than 200 people in 23 states have gotten sick from salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes.

Days into this outbreak, we still don't know its origin or if all the bad tomatoes are off the market.

"It definitely worries me that they don't seem to know where it's coming from," Belinda Oswald, a concerned consumer, said.

What states are affected
New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont joined Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin in a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes.

Learn more at FDA.gov.
Fruits and vegetables on America's dinner table come from several sources, including other countries, where safety standards can be lower than in the U.S. Right now, no system tracks produce from the farm, to the grocery store, to your home.

The Food and Drug Administration says it doesn't have enough money or resources to follow this trail.

Some solutions include more funding for the FDA and a tracking system, like bar code identification. However, this could be expensive.

"There is a cost to a good traceability system, but there is a cost to not having one when you lose total confidence in whether tomatoes being sold are safe," Center for Science in the Public Interest Food Safety Director Caroline Smith said.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, some lawmakers expressed frustration at what they call an on-going problem, with devastating effects. "Sadly we have been here before. The longer you sit on this committee, the more depressed you get because the issues never get resolved and crop up again and again," Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette said.

"Country of origin" labeling is also seen as key to tracking produce and ensuring safety for consumers. The system is in place in Europe, but not in the U.S.
 
PORKER said:
salmonella outbreak linked to tainted tomatoes has spread to six more states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont.

More than 200 people in 23 states have gotten sick from salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes.

Days into this outbreak, we still don't know its origin or if all the bad tomatoes are off the market.

"It definitely worries me that they don't seem to know where it's coming from," Belinda Oswald, a concerned consumer, said.

What states are affected
New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont joined Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin in a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes.

Learn more at FDA.gov.
Fruits and vegetables on America's dinner table come from several sources, including other countries, where safety standards can be lower than in the U.S. Right now, no system tracks produce from the farm, to the grocery store, to your home.

The Food and Drug Administration says it doesn't have enough money or resources to follow this trail.

Some solutions include more funding for the FDA and a tracking system, like bar code identification. However, this could be expensive.

"There is a cost to a good traceability system, but there is a cost to not having one when you lose total confidence in whether tomatoes being sold are safe," Center for Science in the Public Interest Food Safety Director Caroline Smith said.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, some lawmakers expressed frustration at what they call an on-going problem, with devastating effects. "Sadly we have been here before. The longer you sit on this committee, the more depressed you get because the issues never get resolved and crop up again and again," Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette said.

"Country of origin" labeling is also seen as key to tracking produce and ensuring safety for consumers. The system is in place in Europe, but not in the U.S.
Click to expand...

Acording to the 6pm news it is now 228 people affected.

I cannot see any way that they do not know by now the general area of the tainted tomatos. With all the differant areas affected it is more data to point to the source. Any good or even by now a poor investagtor could follow the shipping route with a pad of paper, a good pencil, and a phone.

Take a look at who all is involved: FDA, Dept of Ag.,WHO, CDC, DOT, and varioud state health, state DOT, and possibly others. With as long as it is taking, there should be Federal and State charges filed against possibly many trucking companies for improper paperwork and wholesale warehouses.

note: sorry for the bad spelling or flaming opinions.
 
NMRANCHER said:
PORKER said:
salmonella outbreak linked to tainted tomatoes has spread to six more states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont.

More than 200 people in 23 states have gotten sick from salmonella linked to tainted tomatoes.

Days into this outbreak, we still don't know its origin or if all the bad tomatoes are off the market.

"It definitely worries me that they don't seem to know where it's coming from," Belinda Oswald, a concerned consumer, said.

What states are affected
New York, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee and Vermont joined Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin in a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes.

Learn more at FDA.gov.
Fruits and vegetables on America's dinner table come from several sources, including other countries, where safety standards can be lower than in the U.S. Right now, no system tracks produce from the farm, to the grocery store, to your home.

The Food and Drug Administration says it doesn't have enough money or resources to follow this trail.

Some solutions include more funding for the FDA and a tracking system, like bar code identification. However, this could be expensive.

"There is a cost to a good traceability system, but there is a cost to not having one when you lose total confidence in whether tomatoes being sold are safe," Center for Science in the Public Interest Food Safety Director Caroline Smith said.

At a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, some lawmakers expressed frustration at what they call an on-going problem, with devastating effects. "Sadly we have been here before. The longer you sit on this committee, the more depressed you get because the issues never get resolved and crop up again and again," Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette said.

"Country of origin" labeling is also seen as key to tracking produce and ensuring safety for consumers. The system is in place in Europe, but not in the U.S.
Click to expand...

Acording to the 6pm news it is now 228 people affected.

I cannot see any way that they do not know by now the general area of the tainted tomatos. With all the differant areas affected it is more data to point to the source. Any good or even by now a poor investagtor could follow the shipping route with a pad of paper, a good pencil, and a phone.

Take a look at who all is involved: FDA, Dept of Ag.,WHO, CDC, DOT, and varioud state health, state DOT, and possibly others. With as long as it is taking, there should be Federal and State charges filed against possibly many trucking companies for improper paperwork and wholesale warehouses.

note: sorry for the bad spelling or flaming opinions.
Click to expand...

Thursday, June 12, 2008 - 8:43 AM EDT
Florida tomatoes deemed safe by FDATampa Bay Business Journal

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed Florida-grown tomatoes safe and free from the salmonella outbreak impacting tomatoes in other states, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson said.
Click to expand...

83% of all tomatoes sold in this country are imported from Mexico--almost all the tomatoes sold during the months in question come from Florida or Mexico...
Florida has been cleared...

I wonder where the contaminated tomatoes came from :???:

USDA says the Mexican Government is investigating the Mexican sources :roll: Really makes me feel confident -NOT :roll: :wink: :lol: :( :mad:


Lou Dobbs says USDA/FDA is covering up for Mexico- looks like a lot of folks distrust our government and agree with him...

6/12/08 Survey
Do you believe the FDA is intentionally failing to release the source of the tainted tomatoes?
Yes 91% 2746
No 9% 259
Total Votes: 3005
Click to expand...
 
Maybe you could put a bar code on Oldtimer. So we could keep him quarentined from the rest of the good healthy folks. They might get what he has God forbid. I heard he was selling them tainted tomatoes their in Montana along with them brueselosis diseased cattle. I'll bet if you track him for a little while you'll find the source of all evil.
 
There's no doubt that we have a huge problem with making sure the food we import is any good. Whether this current tomato problem ends up being from foreign product or not, the fact that it is the first and most probable scenerio thought of just highlights the issue.
 
Imports now account for 15 percent of the U.S. food chain, an increase of about 50 percent in the last six years, according to Bill Hubbard, a former associate commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration, who retired in 2005 after 33 years with the agency.

This went largely unnoticed until last year, when U.S.-branded pet food with contaminated wheat gluten from China killed thousands of household pets. For the first time, consumers got a glimpse of the extent to which American companies outsource ingredients and branded products to contract manufacturers. Food sourcing has now become synonymous with safety concerns.

In a new survey from Deloitte & Touche released last week, Americans expressed great reservations about foods produced outside the U.S. More than half -- 56 percent -- say they think imported foods are "not at all" or only "somewhat" safe. In contrast, 80 percent of Americans say they believe that domestically produced foods are safe.

"It doesn't get much more personal than something you're buying for your children to eat or you're eating yourself," says Pat Conroy, leader of Deloitte's U.S. consumer products practice.

But wary consumers may be getting some help -- the kind that could create a new vulnerability for marketers, who spend millions to win the public's trust and loyalty in their brands. On Sept. 30, mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) will be enforced for beef, lamb, pork, fruit, vegetables and peanuts. The provision was originally approved as part of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, but special interests have lobbied to delay it since then. (Purveyors of wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish, nonetheless, have had to disclose their origin since 2005.) And as the date nears, COOL is gaining momentum in Washington: Last month, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 expanded the list of covered commodities to include chicken, goat meat, ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts.

Of even more concern to marketers: In April, two Democratic congressmen from Michigan, Rep. John Dingell and Rep. Bart Stupak, leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee, proposed country-of-origin information be extended to include product ingredients, which would be detailed on manufacturers' Web sites. For the first time, consumers would see the extent to which many venerable American brands outsource ingredients around the world.
 
There is an easy solution to the dangers in the food chain. Just quit eatin' them tomatoes and all the other imported veggies. I think that would do a hole lot more good than whining like a 12 year old hound dog on a three day old track.
 
Ranchero said:
There is an easy solution to the dangers in the food chain. Just quit eatin' them tomatoes and all the other imported veggies. I think that would do a hole lot more good than whining like a 12 year old hound dog on a three day old track.
Click to expand...

The only problem with that is that they do not mark where they came from.
 
They do mark where they came from. Haven't you seen the little oval sticker on all fruits and vegitables that lists the country of origin? I have, every time I buy them at the grocery store. Also, washing the food before eating might help. A little common sense goes a long way. What will the 56% want next? Someone to taste test the food for them. A free market means everyone is free to buy or not. Why do these lamebrains always want the government to take care of every thing? Then they complain because they didn't do it right, or the cost of solving the problems is too much (i.e. lower standard of living, devalued dollar, fewer individual rights). Maybe, Americans ought to take responsibility and grow their own food and or wash the food they buy before eating it, instead of complaining the government should have protected them from themselves.
 
Ranchero said:
They do mark where they came from. Haven't you seen the little oval sticker on all fruits and vegitables that lists the country of origin? I have, every time I buy them at the grocery store. Also, washing the food before eating might help. A little common sense goes a long way. What will the 56% want next? Someone to taste test the food for them. A free market means everyone is free to buy or not. Why do these lamebrains always want the government to take care of every thing? Then they complain because they didn't do it right, or the cost of solving the problems is too much (i.e. lower standard of living, devalued dollar, fewer individual rights). Maybe, Americans ought to take responsibility and grow their own food and or wash the food they buy before eating it, instead of complaining the government should have protected them from themselves.
Click to expand...

Nope Never saw the little stickers you are talking about. The last time that I was in the store (on Tuesday) they only had a little sign "These tomatos are from an FDA approved ares" No other stickers or signs.

This problem is that the salmonella is inside the tomatos, which means that it entered the tomato sometime during the growing process. So just washing it off will not help the situtation. I would gladly grow my own if the soil we have would allow such. It is mostly gyp soil.
 
NMRANCHER said:
Ranchero said:
They do mark where they came from. Haven't you seen the little oval sticker on all fruits and vegitables that lists the country of origin? I have, every time I buy them at the grocery store. Also, washing the food before eating might help. A little common sense goes a long way. What will the 56% want next? Someone to taste test the food for them. A free market means everyone is free to buy or not. Why do these lamebrains always want the government to take care of every thing? Then they complain because they didn't do it right, or the cost of solving the problems is too much (i.e. lower standard of living, devalued dollar, fewer individual rights). Maybe, Americans ought to take responsibility and grow their own food and or wash the food they buy before eating it, instead of complaining the government should have protected them from themselves.
Click to expand...

Nope Never saw the little stickers you are talking about. The last time that I was in the store (on Tuesday) they only had a little sign "These tomatos are from an FDA approved ares" No other stickers or signs.

This problem is that the salmonella is inside the tomatos, which means that it entered the tomato sometime during the growing process. So just washing it off will not help the situtation. I would gladly grow my own if the soil we have would allow such. It is mostly gyp soil.
Click to expand...

None of the produce in our local stores is labeled either or have any kind of stickers-- which according to Congressman Delauro, in an interview with Lou Dobbs yesterday, will change in September as all produce will fall under the M-COOL law that just went into law over King Georges veto- and according to her- this Congress will guarantee is enacted and enforced.....
 
WalMart Super Center, Sam's Club and Costco all sell imported produce, and their's have stickers in the State of Arizona. I don't know about other states or stores. It's probably a good idea to quit eating vegetables and just eat USDA inspected beef. Which I must say, all of the imported Mexican cattle are USDA inspected at the border. What happens before, after and during slaughter is another matter.
 
The CDC says the outbreak, which is linked to a rare form of bacteria called Salmonella Saintpaul, has spread to include 810 cases in 36 states and the District of Columbia.

And there is no sign that it's abating. "We are still getting reports of recent illnesses," Griffin said.

The true incidence is probably much higher, because the agency has estimated that about 30 cases occur for every one that is reported.

This weekend, teams of investigators will focus on fields, warehouses and distribution centers in Mexico and Florida as possible sources of the outbreak.

Investigators have collected about 1,700 tomato samples, "and so far, all of these have been negative," Acheson said.

He said the investigators' ability to find the source of the bacterium has been complicated by the practice among processors of repacking as many as 90 percent of tomatoes. It is not unusual for domestic and imported tomatoes to be packed in the same box, he said.

"This outbreak is not over," he said. "We are still putting all resources into it that we have."

But Acheson reiterated comments he made last week, that investigators may never find the source of the outbreak.

Griffin said it was not clear whether the outbreak is tailing off, because the average time between when a person becomes ill with the salmonella and when it is reported is 16 days.
 
The CDC said in a July 1 news release that it was looking at "food items that are commonly consumed with tomatoes."

As of July 1, the most recent onset date of illness was June 20, he said. However, it can take more than two weeks for illnesses to be reported to public health officials.Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC's Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, said July 1 there were 869 reported illnesses in 36 states and Washington, D.C. He said at least 107 people have been hospitalized.

As of July 1, the most recent onset date of illness was June 20, he said. However, it can take more than two weeks for illnesses to be reported to public health officials.
 
News stories for a couple of days have been saying it might not be tomatoes that are to blame for the illnesses.

Wonder how many tomato producers will quit the business after this problem?

A problem is created in tracing tomatoes by the fact that they are sorted after leaving premises of origin to group similar sizes and degree of ripeness leaving many sources for each package of tomatoes in the retail and food service institutions.

Has the culprit bacteria been found in ANY tomatoes?

Obviously, it is difficult to isolate, or else too much effort went into searching for it in tomatoes when everything in the diet, and maybe even in the homes of the people who were ill should have been checked out better to find the real source. If it is truly a serious problem.

869 illnesses and even 107 hospitalizations do not seem terribly significant in our population of 300 to 400 million people. Especially IF we don't truly know whether or not it was caused by food.

mrj
 
THURSDAY July 3, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today July 3 updated the ongoing salmonella outbreak on its website saying that 922 persons in 40 states have been confirmed to suffer from salmonella Saintpaul since April. Of the reported cases, 210 have fallen ill since June 1. At least 110 people were hospitalized.
 
The Dobbs report was reporting today that their sources within FDA were saying that after the millions/billions of $ lost by the US tomato growers- they were now concentrating all their investigation on tomatos and other vegetables used in Mexican type food that is produced in Mexico and/or that is coming in from Mexico....
 
You would have thought that the food inspection police would have asked what was eaten besides tomato's ! I have never seen anybody eat just tomato's .
 

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